Laico v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th 649

In a published decision, the Court of Appeal reversed an approximately $2 million premises liability judgment against Horvitz & Levy's client, Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (CUSA). At issue in the case was the extent to which a landowner may be held liable for work-related injuries suffered by the employee of a facility that occupies the landowner's premises.

Plaintiff Antonio Laico worked as a technician for the Chevron Research and Technology Company (the CRTC), a company engaged in scientific and applied research relating to the petrochemical business. CUSA, a separate and distinct corporate entity, owned the land on which the CRTC's facility was located. After he was diagnosed with a leukemia-related blood condition, Laico and his wife sued CUSA alleging that exposure to benzene from gasoline-testing caused his condition and that CUSA was liable as the owner of the land. The jury found CUSA liable as a landowner, allocating only a small percentage of fault to Laico's employer, the CRTC, which was immune from suit under California's workers' compensation law.

In reversing the judgment against CUSA, the Court of Appeal held that CUSA owed no duty to Laico because the danger at issue did not concern a dangerous condition of the land but consisted of hazardous conduct by the occupant of the land (the CRTC) through its employees. The court also emphasized that the plaintiffs failed to establish that CUSA had knowledge of the danger, the right to inspect, or the ability to discover and remedy the hazards of the workplace.

The Laico decision was reported in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. (Pfaff, Panel Tosses Hefty Award Against Chevron, Los Angeles Daily Journal (October 29, 2004), p. 3.)

Home | Firm Directory | About H & L | Practice Areas | H & L News
Seminars | Publications | Recruiting | Directions | Links | Site Map