Kivachitsky

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant employed plaintiff as a handyman in her rental property business, and also retained him to construct a gazebo at her residence. On April 21, 2008, plaintiff fell off a ladder while working on the gazebo and injured his ankle. Defendant learned of the accident that same day. Defendant was insured under a homeowner’s policy issued by Farmers Insurance Group that provided workers’ compensation insurance coverage for residence employees. The policy defined a “residence employee” as “an employee of an insured who performs

1 duties related to the ownership, maintenance or use of the residence premises. This includes employees who perform similar duties elsewhere for an insured. This does not include employees while performing duties related to a business of an insured.” (Boldface type omitted.) Consistent with Labor Code sections 3351, subdivision (d), and 3352, subdivision (h),1 the policy specified that residence employees were employees who, during the 90 calendar days immediately preceding the date of an injury, were employed by the insured for at least 52 hours and earned at least $100 in wages.2 The policy required defendant to notify Farmers immediately…