Opinion ID: 1160825
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Was Salla a Managing Agent?

Text: Although the Court of Appeal did not review her job functions in detail, it concluded that Salla, the zone manager who fired plaintiff, was his supervisor, and was therefore a managing agent under section 3294, subdivision (b). Under our construction of the term, however, and contrary to the Court of Appeal, Salla's supervision of plaintiff and her ability to fire him alone were insufficient to make her a managing agent. Nonetheless, viewing all the facts in favor of the trial court judgment, we conclude that Salla was a managing agent as we construe the term. As the zone manager for Ultramar, Salla was responsible for managing eight stores, including two stores in the San Diego area, and at least sixty-five employees. The individual store managers reported to her, and Salla reported to department heads in the corporation's retail management department. The supervision of eight retail stores and sixty-five employees is a significant aspect of Ultramar's business. The testimony of Salla's superiors establishes that they delegated most, if not all, of the responsibility for running these stores to her. The fact that Salla spoke with other employees and consulted the human resources department before firing plaintiff does not detract from her admitted ability to act independently of those sources. In sum, Salla exercised substantial discretionary authority over vital aspects of Ultramar's business that included managing numerous stores on a daily basis and making significant decisions affecting both store and company policy. In firing White for testifying at an unemployment hearing, Salla exercised substantial discretionary authority over decisions that ultimately determined corporate policy in a most crucial aspect of Ultramar's business.