INTER-INSURANCE BUREAU v.

PAUL HESTEHAUGE

Filed 3/22/06

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (Appeals Board) determined Paul Hestehauge was an employee of homeowners Wayne and Laurie Charkins for purposes of awarding workers' compensation benefits. The Charkinses' insurer, California State Automobile Association Inter-Insurance Bureau (CSAA), filed a petition for writ of review in this court challenging the Appeals Board's determination. Neither Hestehauge nor the Appeals Board answered the petition. We granted the petition and issued a writ of review. We conclude Hestehauge was not an employee of the Charkinses.

BACKGROUND

The Charkinses hired Hestehauge to paint the living room, dining room, and possibly the kitchen of their home. Their agreement was informal--nothing was put into writing. Hestehauge was visiting from his native Australia, and the Charkinses had met him through a mutual friend. Hestehauge was an experienced house painter, but he did not have a California contractor's license.

On Hestehauge's first day painting at the Charkinses' home, he fell from a ladder placed on top of a scaffold. He suffered serious injuries.

Hestehauge applied for workers' compensation benefits. He also filed a civil suit against the Charkinses. In the workers' compensation proceedings, a workers' compensation judge (WCJ) held a hearing on the threshold issue of whether Hestehauge was an employee of the Charkinses. The WCJ found he was. The Appeals Board granted a petition for reconsideration filed by CSAA, but then took nearly two years to issue a decision. Ultimately, the Appeals Board upheld the WCJ's decision.

DISCUSSION

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