Castro v. State of California

In Castro v. State of California (1981) 114 Cal.App.3d 503, dump trucks had to proceed to a point north of the construction site, turn around at an intersection or driveway, and back down for a distance of a half block or more to a backhoe for loading. During this procedure, an injury accident occurred. (Castro, supra, 114 Cal.App.3d at p. 512.) Castro found this evidence sufficient to support a jury verdict of vicarious liability under the peculiar risk doctrine of Restatement Second of Torts, section 416. (Castro, at p. 512; see also id. at pp. 509, 517.) Castro also encompassed the direct liability theory of limited retained control under Restatement Second of Torts, section 414. There is no incompatibility, though, between this direct theory of limited retained control and the vicarious theory of peculiar risk. As Castro explained: "The peculiar risk doctrine does not depend upon the degree of control over the work retained by the employer; it depends upon the risk peculiar to the work contracted to be performed." (Castro, supra, 114 Cal.App.3d at p. 518.) In a special verdict, the Castro jury found liability on the peculiar risk doctrine. (Id. at p. 509.) In sum, the plaintiff was a dump truck driver who worked for a construction company hired by the state to install a pipeline. The plaintiff had gotten out of his truck while waiting to pull forward to load and was injured when a fellow driver backed into him. He sued, asserting that the state was vicariously liable for the other driver's negligence. The jury found for the plaintiff, but the trial court granted a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, concluding that the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to support the finding of peculiar risk. (Id. at pp. 507-509.) The Court of Appeal reversed. It noted that construction procedures on the project required dump trucks to drive to a point beyond the construction site, turn around, and then back down the street for more than a half block. Further, there was evidence that the side mirrors on the dump trucks did not allow drivers to see what was directly behind them at distances of less than 85 feet. (Castro, supra, 114 Cal.App.3d at p. 512.) Accordingly, the court concluded that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's finding of liability under the peculiar risk doctrine: "There was substantial evidence that the state should have recognized that the risk of someone being struck by dump trucks backing up for more than half a block was inherent in the approved plan of operation unless special precautions were taken. While the evidence was conflicting in many respects, the very existence of the conflict rendered it inappropriate for the court to grant the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict." (Id. at p. 513.)