Stenseth

Plaintiff Dr. Jon Stenseth filed the instant action against defendant Wells Fargo Bank for allowing plaintiff’s employee to cash insurance checks on his forged endorsement. The jury found in favor of plaintiff. On appeal defendant raises issues relating to the admissibility and sufficiency of the evidence. Plaintiff has filed a cross-appeal and contends the trial court erred by excluding evidence of the amount of damages attributable to the time and effort he spent in uncovering the theft. We find the portion of the judgment awarding plaintiff $25,040 in damages must be reversed. In all other respects, the judgment is affirmed.

Statement of Facts

Plaintiff is a surgeon who began his practice with a multispecialty organization known as the San Jose Medical Group in 1971. In 1985 plaintiff left the San Jose Medical Group. He then opened a small surgical practice and hired one employee, Della Gray.

Plaintiff had met Ms. Gray at the San Jose Medical Group in the mid-1970’s where she was employed in the lab. When plaintiff was planning to leave the San Jose Medical Group, his office nurse recommended Ms. Gray to him. Ms. Gray had previously managed physicians’ offices.…