California Supreme Court Watch

#22-171 Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, S274191. (9th Cir. No. 21-15963; 31 F.4th 1268; Northern District of California; D.C. No. 3:20-cv-09355-MMC.) Request under California Rules of Court, rule 8.548, that this court decide questions of California law presented in a matter pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The questions presented are: “1. If an employee contracts COVID-19 at his workplace and brings the virus home to his spouse, does California’s derivative injury doctrine bar the spouse’s claim against the employer? 2. Under California law, does an employer owe a duty to the households of its employees to exercise ordinary care to prevent the spread of COVID-19?”

Request for certification granted: 6/22/2022

Case fully briefed: 9/13/2022

Cause argued and submitted: 5/09/2023

Opinion filed: 7/06/2023

See the Order Certifying Questions to the Supreme Court of California.

See the Oral Argument.

In the news:  Greenwald, Calif. employers not liable for COVID spread to family members, Business Insurance (July 6, 2023).

In the news:  Egelko, Employers can’t be sued by workers’ spouses over COVID exposure, state Supreme Court rules, S.F. Chronicle (July 6, 2023).

In the news:  Rector, California high court: Employers not responsible for COVID spread to workers’ families, L.A. Times (July 6, 2023).

In the news:  Wiessner, Workers cannot sue over COVID spread to households, California court rules, Reuters (July 7, 2023).

See the California Supreme Court Opinion.  (Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, Inc. (2023) 14 Cal.5th 993.)

(1) If an employee contracts COVID-19 at the workplace and brings the virus home to a spouse, the derivative injury rule of California’s workers’ compensation law does not bar a spouse’s negligence claim against the employer.

(2) An employer does not owe a duty of care under California law to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to employees’ household members.

Majority Opinion by Corrigan, J
— joined by Guerrero, C. J., Liu, Kruger, Groban, Jenkins, and Evans, JJ.