Bryer

Plaintiff was injured as a result of the absence of a “point of operation guard” on the pasta machine she was operating in the course of her employment for defendant. She brought a civil action for damages against defendant. Defendant moved for summary judgment on the ground that plaintiff was limited to workers’ compensation. Defendant asserted that Labor Code section 4558, the “power press” exception to workers’ compensation exclusivity, was inapplicable because it was undisputed that defendant had never received any information from the manufacturer of the pasta machine regarding the necessity of a point of operation guard on the pasta machine. Defendant submitted affidavits which established that defendant had purchased the pasta machine secondhand and had never “received information of any kind” from the manufacturer of the pasta machine. Plaintiff submitted affidavits which attempted to dispute this proposition. Her affidavits showed that defendant had “noticed the hole in the machine” which indicated to defendant that a safety device should have been in that location and was missing. The individual who had sold the pasta machine to defendant indicated that he had…