In Re Jessica Ferrer, Plaintiff v. Tesfamariam Okbamicael and Colorado Cab Company, L.L.C., Defendants

Summary

The court held that an employer's admission of vicarious liability for an employee's negligence bars the plaintiff's additional direct-negligence claims against the employer because those claims become duplicative and unnecessary. It also held that seeking exemplary damages does not create an exception to that rule, and it upheld the denial of amendment requests because the plaintiff lacked a viable employer claim supporting exemplary damages and failed to show prima facie willful and wanton conduct by the driver. Justice Gabriel, joined by Chief Justice Rice and Justice Hood, dissented, arguing that the employer's direct-negligence claims were independent and that the ruling conflicted with comparative-fault principles and permitted pleading manipulation.