Bailey v. Filco, Inc

In Bailey v. Filco, Inc. (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 1552, the court held there was no liability under respondeat superior when the cashier at an appliance store left on a paid break to purchase cookies for herself and another employee and was involved in a car accident. (Id. at pp. 1557-1558.) The court emphasized that the employer never instructed the employee to buy cookies or to run any type of errand. (Id. at p. 1558, fn. 1.) The court concluded that the employee's trip to purchase cookies on her morning break "did not encompass risks typical of or broadly incidental to the employer's business or the employee's duties." (Id. at p. 1564.)