Court Opinion

ID: 9795004
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 03:15:53.032092+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:22:51.845148
License: Public Domain

EDMONDS, J.
I place my concurrence in the judgment upon grounds different from the quite indefinite pattern of liability outlined in the majority opinion.
*662According to the complaint, the minor was solicited by-Craft and his associates to participate in a boxing match for a consideration of $5.00. He accepted the offer and in the bout, sustained personal injuries as the result of blows struck by his opponent. By other allegations, the pleading asserts that the boxing match, or exhibition, was conducted in violation of applicable statutes regulating prize fighting and directing that no boxing contest shall be conducted without a license from the Athletic Commission and in accordance with specified requirements.
The demurrer admits the truth of these facts and they state a cause of action for personal injuries suffered by an employee. In determining whether an employer-employee relationship exists, the most important factor is the right to control the manner and means of accomplishing the result desired. (California Emp. Com. v. Los Angeles etc. News Corp., 24 Cal.2d 421 [150 P.2d 186]; S. A. Gerrard Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 17 Cal.2d 411 [110 P.2d 377]; Murray v. Industrial Acc. Com., 216 Cal. 340 [14 P.2d 301].) One may have the status of an employee although the employment is for a single performance. (Drilion v. Industrial Acc. Com., 17 Cal.2d 346 [110 P.2d 64].) The fight in which Hudson participated was a part of the program offered at the circus for the entertainment of the public. It was held on the'.premises Of the respondents and was subject to their management. The modesty of the consideration and the boy’s youth áre facts which may be taken into account, in connection with the use of the respondents’ facilities and equipment, as indicating the degree of control exercised by them over him.
The facts stated by the complaint affirmatively show that although young Hudson was an employee, he was not subject to the workmen’s compensation law and may maintain án action against his employer. Section 3351 of the Labor Code, which defines the persons entitled to compensation benefits provides: “ ‘Employee’ means every person . . . whether lawfully or unlawfully employed. ...” The purpose of the statute is to bring within its terms and make eligible for benefits persons whose employment violates laws relating to minors, work on Sunday, civil service, and the like. . It does not include a person whose contract of employment is unlawful for the reason that it requires the employee to perform acts constituting a violation on his' part of the express provisions' of a penal statute. (Massachusetts etc. Co. v. Industrial Acc. Com., 19 Cal.App.2d 583, 587 [65 P.2d 1349]; Drakos *663v. Makiwett, 6 Cal. Compen. Cases 228 [1940]; see 32 Cal.L. Rev. 289, 292.)
According to the facts pleaded by Hudson, his employment violated not only the requirements of the Business and Professions Code regulating boxing, but also constituted a violation of section 412 of the Penal Code, which declares that anyone engaging in a prize fight is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined from $100 to $1,000 and be imprisoned in the county jail for a period of 30 days to one year. The rule is well established that an employer is under a duty to furnish safe working conditions for his employees. (Devens v. Goldberg, ante, pp. 173, 178 [193 P.2d 943]; Cordler v. Keffel, 161 Cal. 475, 479 [119 P. 658].) Section 2800 of the Labor Code provides: “An employer shall in all cases indemnify his employee for losses caused by the employer’s want of ordinary care,” and by the following section: “It shall be conclusively presumed that such employee was not guilty of contributory negligence in any case where the violation of any law enacted for the safety of employees contributed to such employee’s injury.” By section 18670 et seq. of the Business and Professions Code, which requires strict supervision of the Athletic Commission, the presence of a physician, a limited number of rounds, padding and specified weight for gloves and relative equality in contestants’ ability, the Legislature has established a standard of care for those persons who participate in boxing matches. The facts pleaded in the complaint sufficiently charge an employment which required the performance of the employee’s duties under unsafe working conditions. With the further allegations in regard to the injuries sustained by the minor as a result of boxing under those conditions, a cause of action for damages is stated.