SCIF

Rail Services of America and Pacific Rail Services (collectively, plaintiffs) sued State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) for alleged misconduct related to premiums SCIF charged them for workers’ compensation insurance. SCIF made motions for summary adjudication or summary judgment as to plaintiffs’ causes of action, and succeeded in obtaining a favorable adjudication as to all but plaintiffs’ second cause of action.

The trial court denied plaintiffs’ attempts to obtain a final, appealable judgment without dismissing that remaining cause of action. Instead, it ordered them to comply with SCDF’s discovery requests before trial, so that trial preparation on that remaining cause of action might go forward. Plaintiffs willfully refused to provide such discovery. The trial court then dismissed the action as a terminating sanction. Plaintiffs now appeal the judgment entered after the order of dismissal. In that appeal, plaintiffs attack not only the order of dismissal but also the earlier orders granting SCIF’s motion for summary adjudication. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs provided employees to perform contract…