Walgreen Company Case Summary

Gatzke worked at Walgreen Company as a district manager. He was called to temporarily relocate to Duluth, Minnesota to supervise the opening and preliminary operations of a Walgreen-owned restaurant. The company was paying for Gatzke to live at an Edgewater Motel, where he set up a temporary workspace. Gatzke and some employees had dinner at the new restaurant and then continued their night to a bar for several drinks while discussing the restaurant. Gatzke went back to his room at the Edgewater motel and began to fill out an expense report. The hotel was then severally damaged in a fire that started in his room, originally a cigarette in the trash can next to Gatzke’s make shift desk. The report stated that this was an accidental fire, and Gatzke got out unharmed. As a result of this fire, the motel sued Walgreen

The specialist cannot follow up for two principals in the same exchange unless there is full disclosure and the principals consent to the game plan. Gatzke was careless in unintentionally dropping a lit cigarette in the garbage can and beginning the fire, and therefore is subject to Edgewood Motel for the damages to the motel. Since Gatzke did not have a set work schedule, he worked at his own pace and at any time of the day, his exercises are dependably inside the extent of job. Walgreen Company ought to be held vicariously liable for the fire damages to the motel, since Gatzke’s activities to some extent promoted Walgreen’s interests and smoking cigarettes is just a minor deviation from the worker’s business related exercises. Walgreen is required to reimburse Gatzke for his everyday costs while staying at the Edgewood Motel and to indemnify him for his liabilities, assuming any, to the Edgewood for his carelessness in bringing on the