State of California v. Superior Court
Opinion
Opinion
Aranda, J.
Statement of the Case
Petitioners, cross-defendants in the cause below, petitioned this court for a writ of mandate on July 21, 1997. We granted a stay of the proceedings below on August 5, 1997.
Statement of Facts
On April 10, 1993, plaintiff Roger A. Falquez, a passenger in a vehicle driven by petitioner and co-employee Bridgette Russell, was injured in an automobile accident when their car was forced into a guardrail by another vehicle driven by real party in interest Staci Beth Glovsky. Glovsky was attempting to drive onto the southbound Harbor Freeway from Interstate Highway 5 and in doing so drove directly into Russell’s path causing Russell to swerve and hit the guardrail.
Falquez filed a complaint for personal injuries on August 5, 1996, against Glovsky alleging the cause of the accident to be Glovsky’s negligent lane change. State Compensation Insurance Fund filed a complaint in intervention to recover benefits it paid to Falquez.
On November 1, 1996, Glovsky filed a cross-complaint for indemnity and contribution against petitioner the State of California as the employer and Russell as a state employee in the course and scope of her employment, on the theory…