Mendoza

This personal injury case involves the overlay of workers’ compensation law.

Defendant Glenn Brodeur hired plaintiff Ernesto Mendoza, an unlicensed roofer, to replace his roof. After a few hours on the job, plaintiff fell from the roof and was injured. Plaintiff contended that defendant did not provide workers’ compensation insurance. In plaintiff’s personal injury action, the trial court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the ground that plaintiff was not an employee under workers’ compensation law and plaintiff had not come forward with evidence supporting a triable issue of fact for tort liability.

Plaintiff contends that summary judgment is unwarranted. We agree. Under Labor Code section 2750.5 and applicable case law, plaintiff is defendant’s employee for purposes of tort liability. In the summary judgment proceedings below, which involved only an issue of law, it was premature to require plaintiff to come forward with evidence of defendant’s negligence. Accordingly, we reverse.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The facts, as set forth in defendant’s separate statement of material facts and plaintiff’s response thereto, are undisputed except…