Leek

This is a pleading case masquerading as a summary judgment case. Employees of a corporate-owned car dealership sued the corporation and its sole shareholder, alleging causes of action for age discrimination and violation of California’s Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act (Gov. Code, § 12945.1 et seq.; hereafter Family Rights Act). The trial court granted the shareholder’s motions for summary judgment on the ground that only the corporation as the employer could be held liable for discrimination, and an alter ego theory was not pleaded in the complaint. The court further granted the shareholder’s motion for attorney fees and costs pursuant to Government Code section 12965, subdivision (b).

Plaintiffs’ claims regarding the merits of the summary judgment motion are twofold. They do not deny that only an employer may be liable to an *406 employee for discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA; Gov. Code, § 12900 et seq.) or for violation of the Family Rights Act. They claim that Jay Cooper was an employer under the statutes, the proper test for determining who is an employer being the degree to which that person controls the employee. They…