In June 2009, plaintiff Stephen Roberts, 66, a long haul truck driver, claimed he was manually unloading individual cartons of merchandise from the inside of the trailer by placing the cartons on a metal roller rack and pushing them toward Dollar Tree Store employees, who were positioned outside of the trailer, in the store parking lot in Fresno. Roberts claimed that during the unloading process, he injured his left knee and back. Roberts commenced a workers’ compensation action seeking compensation from his employer, Swift Transportation Co. He then abandoned the workers’ compensation action to sue Dollar Tree Stores Inc. for general negligence and premises liability. Dollar Tree subsequently named Swift Transportation as a cross-defendant, seeking indemnification and to recover the costs of defense. Roberts contended that the unloading of individual boxes, as opposed to unloading a group of boxes stacked on a pallet with a pallet jack, caused his . He alleged that manually unloading boxes of merchandise increased his likelihood of injury. Dollar Tree claimed that it only learned of the incident when it was served with the complaint. In discovery, defense counsel contended that it learned that not only did Roberts not report the accident to any Dollar Tree employee, but that Roberts could not recall the date of the accident or the location of the store where he claimed he was injured. Counsel noted that while Roberts initially alleged in his complaint that the date of the incident was June 15, 2009, at his deposition, Roberts claimed that he could not recall the exact date of injury and then later claimed the injury occurred “sometime” during the week of June 15, 2009. Thus, defense counsel asserted that company records established that no deliveries were made by Swift Transportation Co. on that day to any Fresno Dollar Tree store. Additionally, counsel contended that under California law, Dollar Tree owed no duty of care to Roberts, who was an employee of an independent contractor, Swift Transportation, which was hired to deliver merchandise, for that Roberts allegedly sustained while performing an integral part of his job duties. Swift Transportation contended that Roberts was appropriately trained and that his entire claim, including his action against Dollar Tree, was barred by the exclusive remedy of worker’s compensation., Roberts claimed to his lower back and left knee. He claimed the pain in his back radiated down his left lower extremity and that he had pain and swelling in the left knee, which causes his knee to give out at times. Roberts subsequently underwent physical therapy for 1.5 years and still undergoes periodic chiropractic/orthopedic examinations. Roberts alleged that he continues to experience pain in his back and knee, and that he treats his condition with analgesic, over-the-counter medications, including Vicodin and Lyrics. He also has not worked since Sept. 25, 2009, claiming his prevent him from working as a truck driver. Although Roberts’ medical damages were all paid by worker’s compensation, it was estimated that the cost of medical treatment, which included diagnostic studies and physical therapy, was in the range of $10,000 to $12,000. Roberts also claimed that his current loss of earnings amounted to $66,885, based on his monthly salary of $2,786.90. Defense counsel noted that Roberts did not report any to either Dollar Tree or Swift Transportation after the alleged incident and continued working for two weeks before eventually reporting it to his supervisors at Swift Transportation. Thus, counsel contended that Roberts’ were all degenerative and pre-existing. Defense counsel also contended that any pain Roberts had while unloading boxes was age related, since he had been employed in the same capacity and doing the exact same job for nearly two years before the alleged injury occurred.