Opinion ID: 7011523
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: California Supreme Court Cases

Text: Even in the absence of section 1714.9, we would disagree with Defendants. The California Supreme Court has never interpreted the independent cause exception as narrowly as the court of appeal did in Famam. Lipson is one of the earliest California Supreme Court cases discussing the scope of the independent cause exception. In Lipson, a firefighter who responded to a boilover of toxic chemicals was injured by exposure to the chemicals. 182 Cal.Rptr. 629, 644 P.2d at 824. Thus, as is true here, the plaintiff was injured by the same instrumentality that necessitated his presence at the scene of the accident. However, the Lipson court held that the firefighter’s rule did not apply because the firefighter’s injuries were proximately caused by his reliance on the defendant’s statement that the boilover did not involve toxic chemicals. Id. at 829-30. The court said: It is, thus, unmistakably clear that in California, the fireman’s rule has never been construed as shielding a defendant from liability for acts of misconduct which are independent from those which necessitated the summoning of the fireman. The rule has only been applied to prohibit a fireman from recovering for injuries caused by the very misconduct which created the risk which necessitated his presence. Id. at 826 (citations omitted); see also id. at 825(citing with approval the statement that “the fireman’s rule only bars a firefighter from recovering for injuries resulting from a person’s negligence or recklessness in causing the fire or other emergency which is the reason for the fireman’s presence”). Explaining the scope of the independent cause exception, the Lipson court noted that negligent or willful misconduct, other than that which created the occasion for the police officer’s or the fireman’s employment, “may create liability to the injured fireman or policeman. Thus a police officer who while placing a ticket on an illegally parked car is struck by a speeding vehicle may maintain[an] action against the speeder but the rule bars recovery against the owner of the parked car for negligent parking.” Id. at 826 (quoting Walters, 142 Cal.Rptr. 152, 571 P.2d at 611 n. 2). The California Supreme Court returned to the firefighter’s rule in Neighbarger. There, the court held that the rule did not bar an action brought by two private-sector safety employees against those whose negligence gave rise to the injury. 34 Cal.Rptr .2d 630, 882 P.2d at 349. Although the facts of that case are not like the ones that we address today, Neighbar-ger is instructive for its examination of the independent cause exception. Citing Lip-son, the court noted that “[t]he rule does not apply to conduct other than that which necessitated the summoning of the firefighter or police officer, and it does not apply to independent acts of misconduct that are committed after the firefighter or police officer has arrived on the scene.” Neighbarger, 34 Cal.Rptr.2d 630, 882 P.2d at 352 (citing Lipson, 182 Cal.Rptr. 629, 644 P.2d at 825, 829). Nor does Calatayud assist Defendants in this context. The California Supreme Court explicitly stated that its review was limited to a question of statutory construction and that it would not address the independent cause exception to the firefighter’s rule. 77 Cal.Rptr.2d 202, 959 P.2d at 365 n. 9. Further, Calatayud cited with approval prior broad articulations of the independent cause exception: “Like most legal principles, the firefighter’s rule is not without its exceptions.... The rule does not apply to conduct other than that which necessitated the summoning of the firefighter or police officer....” Id. at 364(citation and internal quotation marks omitted); see also id. at 361 (“One who negligently causes the event to which a police officer responds owes no duty of care with respect to the initial negligent act.”). We conclude that no decision of the California Supreme Court adopts Famam’s narrow interpretation of the independent cause exception. However, Defendants also claim support from several court of appeal decisions. We turn now to an examination of those cases.