Summary Judgment Reversed On Issue Of Agency Between Auto Club And Tow Truck Company.

Plaintiff was an Auto Club member who requested roadside assistance for a flat tire, and the Auto Club dispatched a flat bed car carrier to a “very dangerous, narrow, dark” section of the Long Beach freeway. The tow truck driver, a technician certified by Auto Club in 1998, decided to transport the disabled car to the next exit and change the tire off the freeway, so he instructed the plaintiff to get inside the tow truck. The next time the tow truck driver saw the plaintiff, he was lying next to the tow truck in the slow lane of the freeway, in a fetal position, after being struck by a motorist. Plaintiff suffered serious brain injuries and requires 24-hour skilled nursing care for life. After suit was filed, the Auto Club moved for summary judgment because the contract between the tow truck company and the Auto Club defines their relationship as that of independent contractor. The appellate court reversed, concludeing there are triable issues of material fact whether the tow truck company assisting plaintiff is the actual or ostensible agent of Auto Club or whether it is an independent contractor. Monarrez v. Automobile Club of Southern California (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 2; November 20, 2012) (As Mod., December 12, 2012) 211 Cal.App.4th 177.