Summary judgment was properly granted to Genentech against claims it was liable for plaintiff’s injuries in an auto accident caused by one of Genentech’s employees while driving from home to the office on his night off. The going-and-coming rule exception to respondeat superior applied. Plaintiff did not raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the “special errand” exception to the going-and-coming rule might apply. The employee returned to the office on his time off on his own, without any request from the employer. The fact he was in charge of the department in which he worked did not make his decision that of his employer–he could not request himself to return to work. Nor was a sufficient request made by pressure of added work that the employee sought to accomplish on his time off. None of the employee’s duties with respect to hiring employees for Genentech required him to drive to work.
California Court of Appeal, First District, Division Four (Streeter, J.); September 22, 2017; 2017 WL 4700383.