Torrey v. Industrial Accident Commission

MILLER, J., pro tem.

This is a petition to review and annul a decision of the Industrial Accident Commission of the State of California, finding that the death of Ivor E. Torrey, who was an employee of the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Dairy Control of the State of California, did not occur in the course of his employment.

The deceased, at the time of his death, which occurred July 24, 1932, was a resident of Sacramento, and was an employee of said department. He was a supervising inspector, and his duties required him to travel over the state, conferring with local inspectors of the department, and arranging for and conducting meetings of dairymen in an effort to obtain their co-operation in enforcing the laws and regulations affecting them and their products. Such meeting was scheduled to be held at Eureka on July 25, 1932, and it was expected to last three days. One Louis Brown was the inspector in charge at Eureka. He lived at Ferndale, some miles southerly from Eureka. Mr. Torrey was on his way from Sacramento to Eureka, and drove by Ferndale for the purpose of conferring with Mr. Brown concerning business of the meeting on the following day. On arriving at Ferndale, he learned that Mr. Brown was attending a picnic some miles away, and he proceeded to hunt him up at the picnic, and they there discussed the proposed meeting and a surprise test they were to make of the milk of the dairymen, of the Eureka district. They

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were frequently interrupted during their discussion because of the fact that Mr. Brown wag a moving spirit at the picnic, if not the directing head. Motor-boats were plying on the river near by. Mr. Torrey had with him his small son, who expressed a wish to have a boat ride. Mr. Brown was accompanied by a lady friend to whom he was desirous of giving a ride on the fanciest speedboat on the river. Torrey and Brown had been conferring for half an hour, and were talking, but about what it does not appear, when the operator of the star boat called Brown and announced that he was ready to leave on his last trip of the day, whereupon Brown invited Mr. and Mrs. Torrey and their small son to join him and his companion on the ride. Torrey and the son accepted, Mrs. Torrey preferring to remain ashore. Mr. Brown’s companion and the Torrey boy were seated inside the cabin of the boat, and there being ten other passengers aboard, Brown and Torrey went on top of the boat. The trip was to last only five minutes, but the boat capsized and both Brown and Torrey with six other persons were drowned.