If the act is naturally incident to the employer's business and did not arise wholly from some external, independent or personal motive, it is done while engaged in the employer's business. This presumption disappears only when the defendant introduces substantial controverting evidence. In the case at bar, the parties agree that at the time of the accident, Mr. Bribiesca was employed by Quality, and he was driving a vehicle owned by Quality. Therefore, the presumption that Mr. Bribiesca was acting within the scope of his employment arose. That presumption could be eliminated only upon Quality presenting substantial evidence dispelling the notion that Mr. Bribiesca's use of the vehicle at the time was for the purpose of furthering Quality's business interests in some fashion.
Quality contends it presented such evidence.
We are mindful of the general rule that the master-servant relationship is suspended while the servant is going to and from meals, even though he is driving the master's car, unless the master receives some direct benefit from the servant's use of the master's car. With Quality's evidence, the presumption disappeared, but the result would be the same, because the trier of fact can look at all of the evidence and the reasonable inferences from the evidence. Clearly, in this case, there was sufficient evidence to justify the trial court's decision. The record as a whole supports a finding that Mr. Bribiesca was indeed acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the accident. The testimony of the Cages showed the relationship between Mr. Bribiesca and Quality.