Kane

Plaintiff, Ruth Kane, appeals from a judgment of nonsuit in an action for personal injuries. Decision of the trial court was entered upon motion by defendant, Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company (Hartford), following presentation of an opening statement stipulated to contain the facts which plaintiff proposed to prove in support of her complaint.

In March 1971, plaintiff, Ruth Kane, was raped by Eddie Williams upon the premises of a Kaiser Foundation Hospital (Kaiser). Williams was an employee of Certified Janitorial and Window Cleaning Company (Certified), an independent contractor providing services to Kaiser. Williams was bonded by defendant Hartford, it being a requirement of Certified’s contract with Kaiser that all its employees possess this independent proof of financial responsibility.

Plaintiff brought suit in January 1972 against Williams, Kaiser, and Certified. In August 1974, she joined Hartford as a defendant to this action by substituting Hartford in place of a Doe defendant named in her complaint. The trial court overruled Hartford’s demurrer that service was improper and a misuse of the fictitious name statute. Certified and Kaiser were dismissed as…