Wrenne v. JA Sutherland CA3

── Wrenne v. JA Sutherland CA3 ── Court: California Court of Appeal Date: June 02, 2026 Category: General Filed 6/2/26 Wrenne v. JA Sutherland CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Shasta) LINDA WRENNE et al., C102531 Plaintiffs and Appellants, (Super. Ct. No. 24CV0204643) v. JA SUTHERLAND, INC., et al., Defendants and Respondents. The California Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA; Lab. Code, § 3200, et seq.)1 is a comprehensive statutory scheme governing the compensation employers must pay employees for injuries suffered in the course and scope of their employment. (Charles J. Vacanti, M.D., Inc. v. State Comp. Ins. Fund (2001) 24 Cal.4th 800, 810 (Vacanti); King v. CompPartners, Inc. (2018) 5 Cal.5th 1039, 1046, 1051 (King).) As a general rule, the workers’ compensation system is the sole or exclusive remedy available for an employee’s work-related injuries, including death. (Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, Inc. (2023) 14 Cal.5th 993, 1006 (Kuciemba).) This rule is known as the workers’ compensation exclusivity rule. (See Singh v. Southland Stone, U.S.A., Inc. (2010) 186 Cal.App.4th 338, 365.) 1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Labor Code. 1  In March 2022, Kevin Wrenne, an employee of a Taco Bell in Redding, was fatally stabbed in the restaurant’s parking lot during an unpaid 30-minute meal break. Wrenne’s parents and his estate (collectively, plaintiffs) filed this wrongful death and survival action against “Taco Bell Corp.” and others, asserting claims for premises liability and negligence. Plaintiffs appeal from the judgment entered after the trial court sustained the demurrers to the complaint without leave to amend. Plaintiffs argue the trial court erred by relying on the “premises line rule” to conclude that their claims were barred as a matter of law under the workers’ compensation exclusivity rule. In other words, plaintiffs contend the trial court erroneously determined that Wrenne’s injuries fell within the exclusive remedy provisions of the WCA, such that they were precluded from bringing the instant civil action. We see no error and affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Because this appeal challenges an order sustaining two demurrers, we summarize the facts underlying this action assuming, as we must, the truth of all properly pleaded allegations in the complaint. (Heckart v. A-1 Self Storage, Inc. (2018) 4 Cal.5th 749, 753.) Complaint In 2022, Wrenne was employed by J.A. Sutherland, Inc. (J.A. Sutherland) and Andrew Hennan, Sr. (Hennan),2 the owners and/or operators of a Taco Bell fast-food restaurant located at 1220 Market Street in Redding. Nielsen Motor Co. (Nielsen Motor) owned the real property and leased it to J.A. Sutherland. Wrenne was a crew member of the subject Taco Bell. 2 According to J.A. Sutherland and Hennan, plaintiffs erroneously sued “Andrew Hennan Sr.” 2  On the evening of March 28, 2022, Wrenne was fatally stabbed in his employer’s parking lot in an unprovoked attack by Brent Close, “a transient individual.” At the time of the stabbing, Wrenne was on a 30-minute unpaid lunch (or meal) break. After clocking out, Wrenne went to the Taco Bell parking lot and sat down on the curb. Thereafter, Close approached Wrenne and stabbed him five times in the neck and c