Plaintiff employee appealed the judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County

Procedural Posture

Plaintiff employee appealed the judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (California), which adopted the findings of the court-appointed referee and granted summary judgment in favor of defendant employer and supervisor on plaintiff's eight claims for damages arising from her discharge.

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Plaintiff employee brought suit against defendants, her employer and supervisor, for wrongful discharge. The trial court referred the case to a referee for disposition of the discovery issues. Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment which was ruled upon by the referee in defendants' favor. The trial court adopted the referee's holding, and plaintiff appealed. On appeal, the court reversed and remanded, holding that the original reference of law and motion matters was not authorized by either statute or the consent of the parties and amounted to an improper delegation of judicial power. There was nothing in the record, other than one phrase in the written order, which made any reference to matters other than discovery issues. The trial court had no authority to make a general reference without plaintiff's consent, and plaintiff did not consent to a general reference. The reference exceeded the authority allowed in Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 639(e), which provided for reference to a referee for determination of discovery issues. Plaintiff did not waive any of her objections to the reference and was not estopped to assert her right to object.

Outcome

The judgment was reversed, and the case was remanded. Defendant employer and supervisor were not entitled to summary judgment in plaintiff employee's wrongful discharge action, because the trial court exceeded its jurisdiction by referring the matter to a referee without the express written consent of the parties.