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City of Oceanside v. Superior Court of San Diego County6/6/2000
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
PETITION for peremptory writ of mandate, prohibition or other relief challenging an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Thomas P. Nugent, Judge. Petition granted.
City of Oceanside (City) and Rodney Ferris (together with City, Defendants), defendants in a personal injury action brought by the real party in interest, plaintiff Tracie G. MacDonald, filed a petition for a peremptory writ of mandate seeking reversal of an order denying their motion for summary judgment. Defendants contend the "firefighter's rule" applies as a matter of law and is a complete defense to MacDonald's action. We agree and grant the petition.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In July 1996 City lifeguards, including Ferris, and Camp Pendleton lifeguards, including MacDonald, conducted a joint operation to rescue a jet ski collision victim who was stranded in ocean water adjacent to a Camp Pendleton jetty. The lifeguards placed the victim on a backboard and attempted to carry him over the jetty rocks. After the lifeguards made only limited progress in transporting the victim along the jetty rocks, Ferris asserted authority over the joint rescue operation and directed MacDonald and other lifeguards to lower the victim off the rocks onto a floating sled behind a jet ski, which would ferry the victim to a nearby harbor patrol boat. While MacDonald stood in the water to assist the victim off the rocks and onto the sled, a wave pushed her against the jetty rocks. She sustained back and other injuries.
MacDonald filed a personal injury action against Defendants, alleging Ferris was negligent in directing her to follow an unreasonable rescue plan. Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment or, in the alternative, summary adjudication of issues, asserting MacDonald's action was barred by the firefighter's rule and City's immunity for discretionary acts under Government Code section 820.2. The trial court denied Defendants' summary judgment motion and granted in part their alternative summary adjudication motion on certain causes of action. The court found the firefighter's rule did not apply to the facts alleged in this case. It further found Government Code section 820.2 did not apply because Defendants' alleged actions were not basic policy decisions.
Defendants filed this petition for a peremptory writ of mandate, prohibition or other relief. We issued an order to show cause and a stay of trial and discovery pending disposition of the petition.
DISCUSSION
I. Summary Judgment Standard of Review
The purpose of a motion for summary judgment is "to discover whether the parties possess evidence requiring the fact-weighing procedures of a trial. [Citations.]" (Appalachian Ins. Co. v. McDonnell Douglas Corp. (1989) 214 Cal.App.3d 1, 10.) Code of Civil Procedure section 437c, subdivision (c) provides that a motion for summary judgment must be granted "if all the papers submitted show that there is no triable issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." As an appellate court, we conduct a de novo review to determine whether there are any genuine issues of material fact. (Appalachian Ins. Co., supra, at p. 11.) An appellate court "make its own independent determination of the construction and effect of the papers submitted [citation], and the validity of the ruling is reviewable irrespective of the reasons stated. [Citation.]" (Preis v. American Indemnity Co. (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 752, 757.)
We strictly construe the moving party's papers and liberally construe the opposing party's papers. (Molko v. Holy Spirit Assn. (1988
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