Court of Appeal Affirms Dismissal of Employment Lawsuit Against Global Tire Manufacturer

On March 20, 2015, the California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s entry of judgment in favor of Lim Ruger’s client – a global tire manufacturer – in a lawsuit filed by a former employee of the client’s third-party logistics contractor.  After briefing and oral argument, the Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s granting of a demurrer.  The litigation began in October 2011, but Lim Ruger defeated all of Plaintiff’s attempts to move beyond the pleading stage and Lim Ruger’s client thus was able to avoid the expense and distraction of discovery proceedings.  Plaintiff’s complaint, which arose out of the client’s decision to terminate the service agreement with its contractor, contained claims for breach of contract, fraud and discrimination against both the client and its contractor.  The trial court sustained Lim Ruger’s demurrers to Plaintiff’s Complaint based on the statute of limitations and other procedural grounds, and it eventually dismissed the case and entered judgment in favor of the defendants after Plaintiff was given several opportunities to correct the defects in his pleadings.  Plaintiff appealed the trial court’s entry of judgment to the Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeal for an independent review.