CACI 3102B Employer Liability for Enhanced Remedies—Employer Defendant Only (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 15657, 15657.05; Civ. Code, § 3294(b))
California Civil Jury Instructions CACI
3102B Employer Liability for Enhanced Remedies—Employer Defendant Only (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 15657, 15657.05; Civ. Code, § 3294(b))
[Name of plaintiff] also claims that [name of defendant] is responsible for [attorney fees and costs/ [and] [name of decedent]’s pain and suffering before death]. To establish this claim, [name of plaintiff] must prove by clear and convincing evidence [insert one or more of the following four options:]
1.[That the employee who committed the acts was an officer, a director, or a managing agent of [name of defendant] acting on behalf of [name of defendant]]; [or]
2.[That an officer, a director, or a managing agent of [name of defendant] had advance knowledge of the unfitness of the employee who committed the acts and employed [him/her/nonbinary pronoun] with a knowing disregard of the rights or safety of others;] [or]
3.[That an officer, a director, or a managing agent of [name of defendant] authorized the conduct of the employee who committed the acts;] [or]
4.[That an officer, a director, or a managing agent of [name of defendant] knew of the wrongful conduct of the employee who committed the acts and adopted or approved the conduct after it occurred.]
An employee is a “managing agent” if the employee exercises substantial independent authority and judgment in corporate decisionmaking such that the employee’s decisions ultimately determine corporate policy.
[If [name of plaintiff] proves the above, I will decide the amount of attorney fees and costs.]
Derived from former CACI No. 3102 October 2008; Revised April 2009, May 2020
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Directions for Use
This instruction should be given with CACI No. 3104 (neglect), CACI No. 3107 (physical abuse), or CACI No. 3110 (abduction) if the plaintiff is seeking the enhanced remedies of attorney fees and costs and/or damages for a decedent’s pain and suffering against an employer and the employee is not also a defendant. (See Civ. Code, § 3294(b); Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 15657(c), 15677.05.) If the employee is also a defendant, give CACI No. 3102A, Employer Liability for Enhanced Remedies—Both Individual and Employer Defendants. The requirements of Civil Code section 3294(b) need not be met in order to obtain enhanced remedies from an employer for financial abuse. (See Welf. & Inst. Code, § 15657.5(c).)
Sources and Authority
•Enhanced Remedies for Physical Abuse, Neglect, or Abandonment. Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.
•Enhanced Remedies Against Employer for Acts of Employee. Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.5(c).
•Enhanced Remedies for Abduction. Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.05.
•Punitive Damages Against Employer. Civil Code section 3294(b).
•“[A] finding of ratification of [agent’s] actions by [employer], and any other findings made under Civil Code section 3294, subdivision (b), must be made by clear and convincing evidence.” (Barton v. Alexander Hamilton Life Ins. Co. of America (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 1640, 1644 [3 Cal.Rptr.3d 258].)
•“The purpose of the [Elder Abuse Act] is essentially to protect a particularly vulnerable portion of the population from gross mistreatment in the form of abuse and custodial neglect.” (Delaney v. Baker (1999) 20 Cal.4th 23, 33 [82 Cal.Rptr.2d 610, 971 P.2d 986].)
•“As amended in 1991, the Elder Abuse Act was designed to protect elderly and dependent persons from abuse, neglect, or abandonment. In addition to adopting measures designed to encourage reporting of abuse and neglect, the Act authorizes the court to award attorney fees to the prevailing plaintiffs and allows survivors to recover pain and suffering damages in cases of intentional and reckless abuse where the elder has died.” (Mack v. Soung (2000) 80 Cal.App.4th 966, 971–972 [95 Cal.Rptr.2d 830], disapproved on other grounds in Winn v. Pioneer Medical Group, Inc. (2016) 63 Cal.4th 148, 164 [202 Cal.Rptr.3d 447, 370 P.3d 1011], internal citations omitted.)