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Horvitz & Levy obtained the affirmance of a judgment dismissing a personal injury lawsuit against our client, holding that workers’ compensation provides the plaintiff’s exclusive remedy.

Plaintiff brought a personal injury action against our client, Galt Joint Union Elementary School District, after she was seriously injured while volunteering at an elementary school spelling bee.  Judgment was entered in favor of the school district under Labor Code section 3364.5, which provides that volunteers at public school districts may be covered by workers’ compensation if the school board passed a resolution extending coverage to authorized volunteers.  Plaintiff appealed from the defense judgment.

Horvitz & Levy represented the school district on appeal and argued that the district satisfied all of the criteria under Labor Code section 3364.5, such that workers’ compensation provides the exclusive remedy for plaintiff’s injury.  The Court of Appeal considered (1) what it means for a volunteer to be “authorized” and under the “direction and control” of the governing board or county superintendent under the statute, and (2) whether the school district’s resolution, passed in 1968, needed to be made in the name of the “Galt Joint Union Elementary District” and passed by a governing board that specifically identified itself as the governing board of the “Galt Joint Union Elementary School District”.  The Court of Appeal agreed with Horvitz & Levy’s arguments and affirmed the trial court’s judgment in a published opinion.