Agent Alone Will Not Confer WCAB Jurisdiction
Great Divide Insurance Company, represented by Ray Correio of Pearlman, Borska and Wax, won an important decision on Reconsideration.
The case of Junior B. Ioane vs the Oakland Raiders (click on the attached link for the entire case) held that the use of a California based Agent to negotiate a contract is not enough to confer California subject matter jurisdiction over a players workers’ compensation claim.
Ioane was a player who signed a contract with the Houston Texans. At the time he signed, he was living in Texas but utilized a California based agent to assist him with negotiating the terms of his contract. The agent negotiated the deal and the player was informed of the terms. The player accepted the contract verbally and later signed the contract in Houston, Texas.
The player asserted that the use of a California based agent to negotiate the deal should be enough to confer CA jurisdiction over the case. The player argued the use of a California agent to negotiate the contract conferred jurisdiction based on L.C. section 5305. L.C. section 5305 states CA will have jurisdiction for any injuries suffered outside of California if the contract for hire was made in CA. The player argued that since the Agent was the person negotiating the contract, the contract was formed in CA, not Texas.
The WCAB disagreed. A three member panel indicated the contract is formed where the principal executes/agrees to the contract; not based on the agent’s location. The principal (the player) in this case was located in Texas at the time he agreed to accept the contract and the player signed his contract in the state of Texas. As such, there was no jurisdiction over the Houston Texans for the period covering the time the Applicant signed his second contract with the Houston Texans since that contract was not formed in California.
