California Court of Appeal

In a suit against defendant-employer brought under the Federal Employers' Liability Act and the Locomotive Inspection Act for personal injuries suffered at work, a court order prohibiting defendant-railroad company from compelling plaintiff-employee to attend a medical examination or conducting a disciplinary hearing to terminate plaintiff's employment for refusing to provide it with medical evidence justifying his continued absence from work is affirmed where: 1) the trial court had jurisdiction to prohibit extra-judicial discovery because the civil rules of discovery provide independent authority to grant a protective order for misuse of the discovery process; and 2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion by awarding monetary sanctions where the sanctions served not to punish but rather to encourage voluntary compliance with the discovery procedures.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/12/2008
• Published 11/13/2008

Judges

• BLEASE, Acting P.J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Randolph Cregger & Chalfant, Joseph P. Mascovich, Adrian L. Randolph, Sacramento, for Defendant and Appellant., Larry Lockshin, Diana Esquivel, Sacramento, for Plaintiff and Respondent.