Plaintiffs, wife and employer, appealed an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (California), which dismissed plaintiffs’ wrongful death claims against defendants, county and security company.

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Overview

Plaintiffs, wife and employer, filed a complaint for wrongful death against defendants, county and security firm. Defendant security company had installed a system in plaintiff employer’s building and, per the contract terms, called defendant county’s police for assistance in searching for intruders. Defendants left the premises even though the system indicated that an intruder was present. Decedent was killed by the intruders about an hour later when he came to work. The court affirmed in part and reversed in part. The court found that plaintiff employer had no standing to sue for wrongful death under Cal. Civ. Code § 49(c) because Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 377 did not include employers among those who could bring an action. The court reversed the dismissal of defendant security company, holding that dismissal was improper because plaintiff employer had the right to amend its complaint to allege the necessary facts for a breach of contract action. The court affirmed dismissal of defendant county as a party on the basis that plaintiff wife’s complaint did not state a cause of action, having failed to establish a duty of care owed by the officers to decedent.

Outcome

The court affirmed the dismissal of defendant county as a party because defendant county’s police officers had breached no duty toward plaintiff wife’s husband. The court reversed the dismissal of defendant security company and held that, while plaintiff employer had no standing to sue for wrongful death, plaintiff employer was erroneously deprived of its right to amend its complaint to state a cause of action for breach of contract.