Garcia

Introduction

Facts and Procedural History

This is an appeal from judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of respondent Ignacio Garcia and against appellant Paramount Citrus Association, Inc. We will conclude the judgment must be reversed because, under the circumstances of this case, appellant owed no legal duty to respondent. Consequently, we will not reach the other issues presented by the parties and amici curiae, concerning the award of damages in this case.*

As relevant to this appeal and viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to respondent, the facts can be summarized as follows. Salud Andrade (Andrade) was a crew supervisor for a farm labor contractor in Tulare County. On April 2, 2001, Andrade had a crew picking oranges on the Burdick Ranch, which was adjacent to appellant’s Abercrombie Ranch, which also consisted of citrus groves. Andrade, driving a three-quarter-ton flatbed truck and pulling a trailer, had delivered a forklift to his crew and was pulling the now empty trailer as he went to another crew’s worksite. Andrade wanted to get to Road 172, and he saw an oiled farm road he thought would lead directly to Road 172. He had never been on…