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Davila v. Nickell10/26/2005
Ricardo Davila, brought a wrongful death and survivor action, and the children of Davila's girlfriend (with whom he had lived) brought a wrongful death action. They named various defendants, including: (1) Joadd, (2) Rumjahn, (3) Nickell, (4) Sun and Kay Louie, (5) Sun Villa Inc., (6) RND, and (7) Joseph Rodriquez. When we refer to the Joadd defendants, we are referring to Joadd, Rumjahn, and Nickell.
Barraza also brought an action against these same defendants seeking to recover for his personal injuries. About three months later, in October 1997, Barraza entered into a settlement agreement, agreeing to dismiss his lawsuit with prejudice (the October 1997 settlement agreement) against these defendants. Under the settlement agreement, Joadd and "defendants" agreed to pay Barraza $5,000 and to pay for all "past and future medical bills" related to Barraza's injuries. The settlement agreement also provided for a waiver of the statute of limitations and that the case could be "re-opened" if the defendants did not fulfill certain conditions. Although the Louies did not sign the agreement and had never been personally served with the lawsuit, Barraza presented evidence that Nickell and Rumjahn were agents for the Louies and Sun Villa Inc. for purposes of the settlement and therefore these parties were bound by the agreement.
Based on the agreement, Barraza dismissed his lawsuit with prejudice. Thereafter, defendants failed to pay Barraza's medical bills. In July 2000, Barraza filed a new lawsuit for his injuries suffered in the July 1996 fall. In his third amended complaint, Barraza asserted negligence claims against the Joadd defendants, Sun Villa Inc., RND, the Louies, and Rodriguez. Barraza also asserted a contract claim alleging breach of the settlement agreement against only the Joadd defendants. Barraza additionally alleged negligence and fraud claims against Henry Kuiper, Joadd's insurance agent.
The Davila and Barraza lawsuits were consolidated for trial. On the first day of trial, the Louies' counsel moved to dismiss all of Barraza's claims on statute of limitations grounds and under the res judicata doctrine based on Barraza's dismissal of his prior lawsuit. Barraza's counsel responded that the applicability of these defenses depended on the resolution of factual issues and credibility determinations regarding the meaning of the October 1997 settlement agreement and whether the Louies were parties to the agreement through their agents. After substantial discussion, the court denied the Louies' motion for bifurcation or dismissal based on these defenses. But the court granted Kuiper's (Joadd's insurance agent) request to bifurcate Barraza's case against him, and to try that case at the conclusion of the main case.
At trial, plaintiffs' negligence theory against defendants was based on Labor Code sections 3706 and 3708, which permit an injured worker to bring a tort action against an employer who did not secure workers' compensation insurance, and penalize the employer by: (1) creating a rebuttable presumption that the injury arose from the employer's negligence; and (2) precluding the employer from raising contributory negligence as a defense. (Lab. Code, ยง 3708.) As discussed below, the court rejected defendants' arguments that these statutory penalties were inapplicable.
The primary defense asserted by the Louies, Sun Villa Inc. and the Joadd defendants was that Rodriguez was the employer of Barraza and Davila and therefore they were not legally liable for plaintiffs' injuries. Defendants also presented evidence that Joadd's foreman never told Barraza and Davila to work on the roof, and instead Barraza and Davila were merely volunteers hoping to get h
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