Davis v. Farmers Ins. Exch., 245 Cal. App. 4th 1302 (2016)

William A. Davis brought suit against Farmers, claiming he had been wrongfully classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee and asserting that he had been wrongfully terminated on the basis of his age. The trial court directed a verdict in Farmers's favor on the wage claim, and the jury found for Farmers on the wrongful termination claim, having concluded that Farmers would have made the same termination decision for legitimate non-discriminatory reasons – even though the jury agreed with Davis that his age was a "substantial motivating factor" in his termination.

The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment in favor of Farmers on the wrongful termination claim, holding that the trial court had properly instructed the jury based upon Harris v. City of Santa Monica, 56 Cal. 4th 203 (2013). However, the appellate court reversed the directed verdict, holding that Davis had presented sufficient evidence to allow his wage claim to go to the jury. The Court also affirmed denial of Davis's claims for recovery of attorney's fees, costs and injunctive and declaratory relief. See also Goodrich v. Sierra Vista Reg'l Med. Ctr., 2016 WL 1702035 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016) (former employee who filed three motions attempting to relitigate trial court's denial of her challenge to hospital's termination decision was properly declared a vexatious litigant).