New CA Employment Case

I help California lawyers get excellent results in four ways:

• I serve as a mediator, arbitrator and referee with ADR Services, Inc. conducting hearings (Zoom and in-person) throughout California. I relentlessly pursue closure as a mediator. As an arbitrator and referee, I preside over relaxed and friendly hearings, carefully review all admitted evidence, and issue fair and impartial decisions. I handle business, employment, insurance (bad faith, coverage, UIM), probate, real property, and tort (elder abuse, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, product liability, and wrongful death) cases.  
• I provide Master Lawyer Mentoring™ to train lawyers to become excellent trial lawyers, and train associates to quickly become excellent lawyers. 
• I publish California Case Summaries™, preparing one-paragraph summaries, organized by legal topic, of every new civil case published in California each month, quarter and year giving subscribers a competitive advantage to get excellent results. 
• In my Trial Alchemy™ podcast I interview outstanding plaintiff and defense civil trial lawyers, who are members of the American Board of Trial Lawyers, about what works, and what doesn't work in civil jury trials. This is a great way for less experienced lawyers to learn from the masters to become excellent trial lawyers. 

New CA Employment Case
Are Employers Liable When Spouses of Employees Get Covid 19?

Last month, in response to questions from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court addressed the following two issues: 
(1) Does an employer owe a duty of care to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to an employees’ household?
(2) If an employees’ spouse is infected, does the California Workers’ Compensation Act bar the spouse’s negligence claim against the employer?

Below is my one-paragraph summary of this new decision:

Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, Inc. (2023) _ Cal.5th _ , 2023 WL 4360826: Answering two questions of California law certified from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concerning the scope of an employer’s liability when an employee’s spouse is injured by transmission of the virus that causes the disease known as COVID-19, the California Supreme Court ruled that if an employee contracts COVID-19 at the workplace and brings the virus home to a spouse, the California Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA; Lab. Code, § 3200 et seq.) does not bar the spouse’s negligence claim against the employer. However, it also ruled that an employer does not owe a duty of care under California law to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to employees’ household members. (July 6, 2023.)

Mediation, Arbitration and Referee Services

I help attorneys and their clients throughout California as a mediator, arbitrator and referee at ADR Services, Inc. I handle business, commercial, employment, insurance (bad faith, coverage, UIM), probate, real property, and tort (elder abuse, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, product liability and wrongful death) cases. I've been a California civil trial lawyer since 1980 and a member of ABOTA since 1995. I've represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of civil cases including the areas listed above. To schedule a new matter, please contact one of my case manager at ADR services, Ins., Haward Cho, [email protected], (213) 683-1600, or Rachael Boughan, [email protected], (619) 233-1323,  

California Case Summaries™

Best regards,
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.
Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee
Master Lawyer Mentoring™
Podcaster: Trial Alchemy™
Publisher: California Case Summaries™
ABOTA Member Since 1995
Past President: San Diego County Bar Assn.
Past President: SD ABOTA Chapter
Phone: (619) 990-4312. Email: [email protected]