LEFIELL MANUFACTURING COMPANY v. SUPERIOR COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY






Filed 3/30/11




CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

LEFIELL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Petitioner, v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Respondent; O'NEIL WATROUS et al., Real Parties in Interest.

B226240 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VC055585)

PETITION for writ of mandate. Yvonne T. Sanchez, Judge. Petition granted in part, and denied in part.
Malek & Malek, Sandra L. Malek and Jeffrey L. Malek for Petitioner.
No appearance for Respondent.
Law Offices of Christopher E. Purcell, Christopher E. Purcell and Christina D. Bennett for Real Parties in Interest.
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In this appeal, we resolve two issues addressing the scope of the power press exception in Labor Code section 4558.[1] Section 4558 provides an exception to the workers' compensation exclusive remedy rule for employees injured as a result of the employer knowingly having removed or having failed to install a point of operation guard on a power press machine. Award Metals, Inc. v. Superior Court (1991) 228 Cal.App.3d 1128 (Award Metals), held the exception applies only for injuries meeting the statute's heightened pleading requirements of knowledge, and an affirmative act on the part of the employer. (Id. at pp. 1134-1136.) We follow Award Metals and reject the application of any exception that would expand section 4558 to permit pleading other tort causes of action requiring a lesser standard of proof.
We also conclude section 4558 does not permit a spouse to bring a loss of consortium cause of action. Nevertheless, since section 4558 is an exclusion from the workers' compensation laws, a spouse may bring a loss of consortium cause of action because that claim is dependent upon an injured spouse's excluded injury.
Here, the complaint sufficiently pleads the power press exception. Accordingly, employer and petitioner LeFiell Manufacturing Company (LeFiell) is entitled to some, but not all, of the relief it seeks, and we shall grant the writ limited to O'Neil Watrous's (hereafter Watrous) additional tort claims that are barred.
BACKGROUND
Watrous was injured operating a FENN 5f swaging machine while working for LeFiell. The swaging machine allegedly is a power press machine.
Watrous and his spouse filed a complaint against LeFiell seeking damages for a violation of section 4558,[2] negligence, products liability, and loss of consortium. Since this case arises from LeFiell's demurrer to the complaint, our recitation of the facts is taken from the operative complaint.
1. Civil Complaint for Work-related Injury
The complaint seeks damages arising from a violation of section 4558 (fourth cause of action).[3] Watrous's injury allegedly was proximately caused by LeFiell's â€