Homeowner Qualified as Tree Trimmer's Employer but Had No Tort Liability for Worker's Fall

A California appellate court ruled that a homeowner was not liable to a worker he had hired to trim trees on his property as a matter of law, even though the worker qualified as his employee. Case: Rosales v. Beckendam, No. E066686, 06/11/2018, unpublished. Facts: In February 2013, Peter Beckendam called Mauro Rosales because he needed someone to perform yard work at his Upland home. About a year earlier, Rosales had given Beckendam his business card, which featured a simple drawing of a palm tree and advertised, among other things, that he performed tree services. When they met, Beckendam...