Schultz v. WCAB

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 29, 2015
DocketB255678M
StatusPublished

This text of Schultz v. WCAB (Schultz v. WCAB) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schultz v. WCAB, (Cal. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

Filed 1/29/15 (unmodified opn. attached) CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

CRAIG SCHULTZ, B255678

Petitioner, (W.C.A.B. No. ADJ582920)

v. ORDER MODIFYING OPINION WORKERS' COMPENSATION [NO CHANGE IN JUDGMENT] APPEALS BOARD and JOINT TEST TACTICS AND TRAINING (JT3) et al.,

Respondents.

It is ordered that the opinion filed herein on January 6, 2015, be modified in the following particulars: On page 10, the first full sentence of the first paragraph reads: “There is no dispute in this case about the facts that pertain to the premises line rule.” The sentence should be replaced with: “There is no dispute in this case about the facts that are material to the premises line rule.” On page 14, the following paragraph should be inserted as the last paragraph of the “Analysis” section: Finally, we reject JT3’s contention (citing Lantz v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2014) 226 Cal.App.4th 298, 314) that the California Supreme Court decision in Santa Rosa Junior College v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd., supra, 40 Cal.3d 345, precludes liberal construction of the Workers’ Compensation Law in regard to determining whether the premises line rule applies. Not only did the court in Santa Rosa Junior College v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. specifically state that the premises line rule was not “invoked” by the facts of that case, in a lengthy footnote the court explained the benefits of the premises line rule while citing numerous cases in which the premises line rule had been “reaffirmed.” (Id. at p. 353 and fn. 11.) We are satisfied that our opinion is consistent with our Supreme Court’s liberal construction of the application of the premises line rule. There is no change in judgment. The petition for rehearing is denied.

________________________________________________________________________ TURNER, P. J. MOSK, J. KRIEGLER, J.

2 Filed 1/6/15 (unmodified version) CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

v.

WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD and JOINT TEST TACTICS AND TRAINING (JT3) et al.,

PROCEEDINGS to review a decision of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. Annulled and remanded with directions. Asvar Law, Christopher A. Asvar, Jonathan J. Perez, for Petitioner. No appearance for Respondent Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. England, Ponticello & St. Clair and Terry S. Wheaton for Respondent Joint Test Tactics and Training (JT3) and The Hartford. __________________________ Under the “going and coming rule” an award of workers’ compensation benefits is generally not available for injuries suffered by an employee during a local commute to a fixed place of business at fixed hours, because the injury does not occur during the ordinary course of employment. However, the ordinary course of employment is deemed to commence when an employee enters the employer’s premises (the premises line rule), and at that point, the going and coming rule does not bar workers’ compensation liability. We hold that the premises line rule applies to an employee injured in a single-car traffic accident where (1) the employee was a civilian working on a secure United States Air Force base not generally open to the public, (2) the employee entered the base in his personal vehicle after passing a guard gate using a security pass issued by his employer with the approval of the Air Force, (3) the employee had travelled one mile inside the base when the accident occurred, and (4) the undisputed evidence established although the employee worked out of a fixed location, the employer had multiple locations on the Air Force base and the employee travelled sometimes in his own vehicle, as needed, throughout the base to perform work assigned by his employer. We therefore annul the decision of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) denying benefits under the going and coming rule.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Petitioner Craig Schultz filed an application for workers’ compensation benefits after suffering injuries in a traffic accident while driving his personal vehicle on the premises of Edwards Air Force Base (Edwards), where he worked for respondent Joint Testing Tactics and Training (JT3). In his written brief before trial, Schultz argued that the going and coming rule did not preclude workers’ compensation liability because use of Schultz’s personal vehicle was (1) an express or implied condition of employment, and (2) an accommodation to JT3, even if not a condition of employment.

2 JT3 filed an interim trial brief. JT3 argued the accident occurred before Schultz had started work, and at a location inside Edwards but seven miles from the building where Schultz was employed at Edwards. JT3 also attributed the accident to Schultz’s diabetic condition. JT3 disputed that Schultz was injured during the course of employment. On the final day of trial testimony, the Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) ordered the parties to file posttrial briefs by June 18, 2013. The case would be deemed submitted after briefing was complete. JT3 filed its posttrial brief on June 17, 2013. JT3 argued the going and coming rule precluded workers’ compensation benefits because Schultz’s injuries did not occur in the course of employment. JT3 contended it did not agree to allow Schultz to use his private vehicle for work, and the accident occurred during Schultz’s regular commute. Schultz, as well as other JT3 employees, was not required to bring a personal vehicle to work, and there were government cars available for use by JT3 employees at Edwards. Schultz worked at a fixed location on the base, which is not where he was injured. In addition, the injuries did not arise out of employment, but were caused by Schultz’s “idiopathic” condition (diabetes). Schultz filed his posttrial brief on June 18, 2013. He argued that JT3 expressly and impliedly required Schultz to make his personal vehicle available as an accommodation to the employer, which negates application of the going and coming rule. He further argued JT3 had not shown this accident was the result of an idiopathic condition. Additionally, Schultz devoted seven pages of his posttrial brief to the argument that the premises line rule applied in this case. He was on JT3’s premises at the time of the injury, meaning as a matter of law the employment relationship had begun for the day. Schultz noted that he was one mile onto the premises at Edwards when injured, and he was only allowed on the base due to the security pass he received from JT3 in connection with his employment. On September 30, 2013, the WCJ ruled in favor of Schultz. The WCJ rejected JT3’s reliance on the going and coming rule and idiopathic injury. The WCJ credited

3 evidence that Schultz at times used his vehicle for the benefit of the employer, which precluded application of the going and coming rule. The WCJ did not address Schultz’s premises line rule argument. JT3 sought reconsideration of the ruling of the WCJ. The WCJ filed a lengthy written opinion recommending against reconsideration. The WCAB granted reconsideration and reversed the decision of the WCJ, stating: “The problem with the WCJ’s analysis is that it focuses on how the employer might possibly benefit by having applicant bring his car to work instead of considering why applicant was in his car on May 24, 2010, and what he was actually doing at the time he crashed.” According to the WCAB’s analysis, the undisputed evidence showed that Schultz was driving his personal car outside of work hours when he crashed during his morning commute to work. There was no evidence that at the time of the injury Schultz was performing a service growing out of and incidental to his employment, or that Schultz was required to bring his car to work or that he was expected to run errands in it on a regular basis.

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Schultz v. WCAB, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schultz-v-wcab-calctapp-2015.