Court Opinion

ID: 9905104
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-28 19:03:26.360776+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:21:41.002202
License: Public Domain

Filed 11/28/23 Abraham v. Wells Fargo Bank CA3
                                           NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for
publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication
or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

                IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
                                      THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT
                                                     (Sacramento)
                                                            ----

    DIANE ABRAHAM et al.,                                                                      C098233

                    Plaintiffs and Respondents,                                         (Super. Ct. No.
                                                                                  34-2020-00274724-CU-PO-
           v.                                                                               GDS)

    WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.,

                    Defendant and Appellant.

         Plaintiffs Diane and John Abraham sued Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Wells Fargo)
and Sheonta Malbrough1 for the wrongful death of their daughter Deniece Abraham
(Abraham). Abraham died while on a business trip for Wells Fargo when traveling to the
hotel after a night out with her colleagues. Wells Fargo moved for summary judgment,
arguing the trial court lacked jurisdiction because plaintiffs’ case was barred by the

1        Malbrough is not a party to this appeal.

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workers’ compensation exclusivity doctrine. Plaintiffs argued Abraham’s night out was a
purely personal endeavor that removed their claim against Wells Fargo from the
provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act (Lab. Code,2 § 3600). The trial court
agreed with Wells Fargo and granted its summary judgment motion. We affirm.
                   FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
       Abraham worked for Wells Fargo at its business support call center in
Sacramento. She was part of a team of traveling bankers that went to Virginia to train
new call center employees who had been hired to staff a business support call center in
that state. As part of the traveling banker training, Wells Fargo promoted the traveling
banker position as an opportunity to network with colleagues from other branches and
pursue leadership roles. The trip to Virginia was scheduled to occur between
November 24, 2019, and November 27, 2019, with each day’s training sessions lasting
from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. After 3:00 p.m., the traveling bankers were considered to
be on their own time and free to do whatever they wanted.
       The trip was organized by a manager with Wells Fargo who arranged air travel,
lodging, and rental car reservations. All of the traveling bankers from Sacramento were
permitted to drive the rental cars reserved for the trip. Further, all the traveling bankers
from Sacramento were included in a group text messaging conversation to communicate
about the shared use of the rental cars so that everyone could efficiently travel to the
training sessions, obtain dinner, or run errands. For the trip, Wells Fargo issued each
traveling banker a “purchasing card” to pay for travel expenses and meals. The traveling
bankers were prohibited from using the purchasing card to buy alcohol.
       Wells Fargo’s team member handbook required employees to follow all local,
state, and federal driving requirements when operating a vehicle while performing

2      Undesignated section references are to the Labor Code.

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company business. The handbook prohibited Wells Fargo’s employees from preforming
job duties, including driving while on company business, if impaired by alcohol. The
handbook also required employees to use “a safe means of transportation” when
consuming alcohol at work-related events. The traveling bankers were not told of any
restrictions concerning their consumption of alcohol.
       The hotel where the traveling bankers stayed provided complimentary alcohol
during a happy hour each night in its lobby. On the first and second days of the trip, all
of the traveling bankers ate dinner together at a restaurant near the hotel. On the third
day of the trip, November 26, 2019, the traveling bankers discussed plans for dinner that
evening, including meeting with trainees and a supervisor from the Virginia office. After
training ended for the day, the traveling bankers drank alcohol in the lobby of their hotel.
Abraham and two of her colleagues went to dinner at a karaoke bar using one of the
rental cars provided by Wells Fargo. They arrived at the karaoke bar around 8:00 p.m.
There, they danced, drank alcohol, and ate chicken wings. Employees from the Virginia
Wells Fargo branch arrived at the karaoke bar at approximately 10:00 p.m. and the group
continued to dance, drink alcohol, and eat chicken wings.
       Shortly after 1:30 a.m., Abraham and her two colleagues left the karaoke bar and
used the rental car provided by Wells Fargo to drive back to their hotel room. Abraham
was a passenger in the car. At approximately 2:00 a.m., the driver of the rental car
crashed into a tree while exiting the freeway. Abraham died from her injuries.
       Plaintiffs sued Wells Fargo for negligence pertaining to the wrongful death of their
daughter. Wells Fargo moved for summary judgment, asserting plaintiff’s suit was
barred by the exclusive remedy provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act.
Specifically, Wells Fargo argued that, because Abraham was considered a commercial
traveler at the time of her death, her death was caused by a workplace injury that was
exclusively compensable with workers’ compensation benefits. Plaintiffs opposed the
motion, arguing that Wells Fargo failed to prove as a matter of undisputed fact that

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Abraham was not engaged in a personal undertaking at the time of her death. The trial
court agreed with Wells Fargo and granted the motion for summary judgment, ultimately
leading to dismissal of the case.
       Plaintiffs appeal.
                                        DISCUSSION
       Summary judgment should be granted when “all the papers submitted show that
there is no triable issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a
judgment as a matter of law.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (c).) “The purpose of the
law of summary judgment is to provide courts with a mechanism to cut through the
parties’ pleadings in order to determine whether, despite their allegations, trial is in fact
necessary to resolve their dispute.” (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co. (2001) 25 Cal.4th
826, 843.)
       A defendant moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden of proving
that there is no merit to a cause of action by showing “that one or more elements of the
cause of action . . . cannot be established, or that there is a complete defense to th[at]
cause of action.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd. (p)(2); see Cucuzza v. City of Santa
Clara (2002) 104 Cal.App.4th 1031, 1037.) “ ‘A defendant moving for summary
judgment based on an affirmative defense . . . bears an overall burden of persuasion that
there is a complete defense to the plaintiff’s action’ . . . [and] must persuade the court
there is no triable issue of fact as to that defense.” (Fazio v. Fairbanks Ranch Country
Club (2015) 233 Cal.App.4th 1053, 1057.) Once a defendant has made such a showing,
“ ‘the burden shifts to the [plaintiff] . . . to show that a triable issue of one or more
material facts exists as to that cause of action or’ ” as to a defense to the cause of action.
(Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co., supra, 25 Cal.4th at p. 849.) A triable issue of material
fact exists where “the evidence would allow a reasonable trier of fact to find the
underlying fact in favor of the party opposing the motion in accordance with the
applicable standard of proof.” (Id. at p. 850.)

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       We review the trial court’s decision de novo (Johnson v. City of Loma Linda
(2000) 24 Cal.4th 61, 65-66) and make “an independent assessment of the correctness of
the trial court’s ruling, applying the same legal standard as the trial court in determining
whether there are any genuine issues of material fact or whether the moving party is
entitled to judgment as a matter of law” (Iverson v. Muroc Unified School Dist. (1995)
32 Cal.App.4th 218, 222). In doing so, we “[consider] all the evidence set forth in the
moving and opposition papers except that to which objections have been made and
sustained.” (Guz v. Bechtel National, Inc. (2000) 24 Cal.4th 317, 334.) We view the
evidence and the inferences reasonably drawn from the evidence “in the light most
favorable to the opposing party.” (Aguilar v. Atlantic Richfield Co., supra, 25 Cal.4th at
p. 843.)
                                              I
                Wells Fargo Met Its Burden Of Establishing Abraham Was
                    A Commercial Traveler At The Time Of Her Death
       Wells Fargo contends it met its burden of persuasion in showing that Abraham
was a commercial traveler at the time of her death, and thus fell within the exclusive
remedy provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act. We agree.
       Subject to limited exceptions, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy
available to injured employees against an employer responsible for injuries “arising out
of and in the course of the employment.” (§ 3600, subd. (a); see §§ 3600-3602, 5300.)
“[T]he exclusivity provisions encompass all injuries ‘collateral to or derivative of’ an
injury compensable by the exclusive remedies of the [Workers’ Compensation Act].”
(Charles J. Vacanti, M.D., Inc. v. State Comp. Ins. Fund (2001) 24 Cal.4th 800, 813.) An
injury is “compensable” for exclusivity purposes if the plaintiff is seeking to recover for
an “ ‘industrial personal injury or death’ ” sustained in and arising “ ‘out of and in the
course [and scope] of the employment’ ” (id. at pp. 813-814), and (2) the acts or motives

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giving rise to the injury constitute “ ‘a risk reasonably encompassed within the
compensation bargain’ ” (id. at pp. 819-820).
       “[T]he legal theory supporting such exclusive remedy provisions is a presumed
‘compensation bargain,’ pursuant to which the employer assumes liability for industrial
personal injury or death without regard to fault in exchange for limitations on the amount
of that liability.” (Shoemaker v. Myers (1990) 52 Cal.3d 1, 16.) The exclusive remedy
rule is an affirmative defense to an action at law. (Doney v. Tambouratgis (1979)
23 Cal.3d 91, 96; Reynaud v. Technicolor Creative Services USA, Inc. (2020)
46 Cal.App.5th 1007, 1020.)
       “[I]t is well-established that an employer’s liability extends beyond the normal
workplace.” (Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2005)
134 Cal.App.4th 1316, 1324.) Under the “ ‘commercial traveler’ ” rule, an employee
traveling on the employer’s business is regarded as acting within the course of
employment during the entire period of his, her, or their travel. (Wiseman v. Industrial
Acc. Com. (1956) 46 Cal.2d 570, 572.) “ ‘His [or her] acts in traveling, procuring food
and shelter are all incidents of the employment, and where injuries are sustained during
the course of such activities, the Work[ers’] Compensation Act applies.’ ” (Ibid.)
“Section 3202 requires that the provisions of the Work[ers’] Compensation Act be
‘liberally construed by the courts with the purpose of extending their benefits for the
protection of persons injured in the course of their employment.’ ” (Dimmig v.
Workmen’s Comp. Appeals Bd. (1972) 6 Cal.3d 860, 867.)
       Here, Abraham was an employee of Wells Fargo traveling for the purpose of
Wells Fargo’s business. During the business trip, Abraham went out for dinner and
drinks with colleagues and then died on the way back to the hotel. These undisputed
facts establish that Abraham was a commercial traveler at the time of her death, and thus
her conduct of traveling and procuring food fell within the conditions of her employment.

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                                               II
                  Plaintiffs Have Not Established A Triable Issue Of Fact
       Plaintiffs contend a triable issue of fact exists as to whether Abraham’s conduct on
the night of her death transformed the evening into a personal endeavor, excluding
plaintiffs’ suit from the exclusive remedy provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act.
We disagree.
       “[T]he scope of the commercial traveler rule, though broad, is not unlimited; the
activity at the time of injury or death must bear some relation to the purposes of the
employment. (1 Herlick, Cal. Workers’ Compensation Law[ (5th ed. 1994)] § 10.18,
p. 10-33.) As [we] explained in Dalgleish v. Holt (1952) 108 Cal.App.2d 561, 566:
‘[T]his rule does not embrace all activities of a commercial traveler irrespective of their
connection with the purposes of the employment. The conditions essential to
compensation as set forth in section 3600 of the Labor Code apply equally to traveling
employees; the status of an employee as a traveling salesman does not change a course of
action [that] is not within the scope of the employment to one that is.’ An injury is not
compensable if the employee’s activities ‘amounted to a purely personal undertaking.’
(Ibid.; see also Western Airlines v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (1984) 155 Cal.App.3d
366, 369 [rape of an airline flight attendant during 26-hour layover between flights was
noncompensable]; 1 Hanna, Cal. Law of Employee Injuries & Workers’ Compensation
(rev. 2d ed. 1997) Injury and Employment, § 4.117[2], p. 4-133 [‘All activities of a
commercial traveler . . . are not within the course of employment. . . . The focus is on the
nature of the activity rather than the status of the employee.’].)” (LaTourette v. Workers’
Comp. Appeals Bd. (1998) 17 Cal.4th 644, 653.)
       However, it has been held that “ ‘where the employee is combining his[, her, or
their] own business with that of his[, her, or their] employer . . . , no nice inquiry will be
made as to which business he was actually engaged in at the time of injury, unless it
clearly appears that neither directly [n]or indirectly could he have been serving his[, her,

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or their] employer.” (Wiseman v. Industrial Acc. Com., supra, 46 Cal.2d at p. 573.)
Indeed, even when employees are engaged in illegal conduct, their conduct falls under
the Workers’ Compensation Act so long as they are engaged generally in performing a
task for their employer. (See id. at pp. 572-573.)
       Plaintiffs have not shown Abraham was engaged in a purely personal undertaking
at the time of her death. Abraham was traveling back to her hotel after dinner with her
colleagues while on a business trip. This type of conduct places plaintiffs’ claims within
the Workers’ Compensation Act. (Wiseman v. Industrial Acc. Com., supra, 46 Cal.2d at
p. 572.) The fact Abraham and her colleagues also consumed alcohol and stayed up late
to dance is of no consequence. Among the purposes of the business trip was the
opportunity to network with other Wells Fargo employees. The team of traveling bankers
was encouraged to dine together and network with each other and employees from Wells
Fargo’s Virginia branch. While Wells Fargo did not pay for employees’ alcohol, it did
not prohibit its consumption. As a consequence, Abraham’s conduct was within the
scope of her business trip and not of a purely personal nature.
       Plaintiffs disagree, relying on Dalgleish v. Holt, supra, 108 Cal.App.2d 561 and
Western Airlines v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd., supra, 155 Cal.App.3d 366 (Western
Airlines). In Dalgleish, an employee of a neon sign company accompanied his employer
on a business trip even though the employee did not plan to attend the business trip nor
did the employee have business to conduct on the trip. (Dalgleish, at pp. 563-564.)
While at the destination, the employee contacted some customers but did not otherwise
engage in business. (Id. at p. 564.) The employee had an opportunity to leave the trip to
go home but decided to stay overnight at his employer’s urging. (Ibid.) The employee
and employer had a social relationship outside of work. (Ibid.) On the evening of the
business trip, the employee and employer went out for dinner, drinks, and gambling.
(Ibid.) After drinking alcohol at multiple establishments, and while driving to procure
food, the employer lost control of the car and crashed. (Ibid.) We held that a “trier of the

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fact could have concluded that the [employee]’s activities during the evening of the
accident amounted to a purely personal undertaking bearing absolutely no relation to the
purposes of the employment.” (Id. at p. 566.)
       In Western Airlines, a flight attendant was on a 26-hour layover when she went on
a bike ride with a man she met. (Western Airlines, supra, 155 Cal.App.3d at p. 368.)
After the bike ride, the man raped her. (Ibid.) The appellate court held that the flight
attendant was engaged in a purely personal endeavor when she was raped because the
rape did not arise out of the flight attendant’s employment. (Id. at p. 370.) Indeed, the
man who raped the flight attendant did not target her because of her job but selected her
at random. (Ibid.)
       Dalgleish and Western Airlines are unhelpful to plaintiffs. They both stand for the
proposition that an injury must arise out of the conditions of employment. (Western
Airlines, supra, 155 Cal.App.3d at pp. 371-372; Dalgleish v. Holt, supra, 108 Cal.App.2d
at pp. 565-566.) Here, unlike the facts in Dalgleish and Western Airlines, networking
with colleagues was a purpose of Abraham’s business trip and was the conduct she was
engaged in at the time of her death. Plaintiffs have not shown Abraham had a social
relationship with her colleagues such that their night out was personal rather than
professional, or that the crash was motivated by conduct completely unrelated to the
purpose of the business trip. In the end, Abraham’s death arose within the scope of her
employment not just because dining was a necessary part of her business trip but because
networking and socializing with her colleagues was as well.
       Plaintiffs spend much time challenging the trial court’s reasoning. We do not
address assertions of trial court error in its reasoning and analysis because, on summary
judgment review, we review the application of the law to the facts de novo. (Johnson v.
City of Loma Linda, supra, 24 Cal.4th at pp. 65-66.)
       We also do not address plaintiffs’ assertions that Wells Fargo’s reliance on certain
cases is misplaced given the procedural posture of those cases. We do not rely on those

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cases in our analysis and instead rely on the undisputed facts demonstrating Abraham’s
conduct at the time of her death and the purpose of the business trip, which we conclude
were inextricably related. Accordingly, the trial court properly granted Wells Fargo’s
motion for summary judgment.
                                     DISPOSITION
       The judgment is affirmed. Plaintiffs shall pay costs on appeal. (Cal. Rules of
Court, rule 8.278(a)(1)-(2).)

                                                 /s/
                                                 ROBIE, Acting P. J.

We concur:

/s/
KRAUSE, J.

/s/
WISEMAN, J.*

*      Retired Associate Justice of the Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District, assigned
by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.

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