Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. v. Department of Transportation

Plaintiffs appeal from summary judgments granted in favor of defendant, Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. (Halliburton), in these consolidated actions. We conclude the trial court properly granted summary judgment on the ground the undisputed facts demonstrated Halliburton cannot be held vicariously liable for the tortious conduct of its employee. The employee was not acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the accident; as a result, the requirements for imposing respondeat superior liability cannot be established. Accordingly, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Troy Martinez was employed by Halliburton as a directional driller from November 2006 to May 2011. In December 2006, Martinez was assigned a company pickup truck to drive. He had the option of using his personal vehicle or being assigned a company track and chose the latter. At the time the track was assigned, his supervisor, Steve Mulholland, told Martinez he could use the company vehicle to get to work and back and to ran personal errands en route; Martinez stated Mulholland told him he could ran errands and take care of business as long as he was back in time for his next shift.…