Rivera

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs and appellants Veronica R. Rivera, Ignacio Hernandez Ponce, and Sarah

M. Arias, sued defendants, Devon Cody Gouvion, and Gouvion’s employer, respondent

TransAm Trucking, Inc. (TransAm), for personal injuries plaintiffs allegedly sustained

during a motor vehicle accident with Gouvion on May 29, 2015. The complaint alleges

that Gouvion, while driving TransAm’s tractor trailer truck on Foothill Boulevard in

Fontana, made an unsafe lane change and sideswiped Rivera’s vehicle. Rivera was

driving, and Ponce and Arias were passengers in Rivera’s vehicle.

The complaint alleges two theories of recovery against TransAm: (1) as

Gouvion’s employer, TransAm is vicariously liable to plaintiffs for Gouvion’s

negligence, if any, in causing the accident under the respondeat superior doctrine, and

(2) TransAm is directly liable to plaintiffs for TransAm’s own negligence in hiring,

supervising, and entrusting its tractor-trailer truck to Gouvion. TransAm moved for

summary judgment or summary adjudication of plaintiffs’ two alleged causes of action—

the first for “general negligence” and the second for “motor vehicle.” The trial court

entered summary judgment…