Discussion Question Two Due on Day 4 Friday Ethan began working as a printer at Bilson s Art Studio in 1996 During his employment Ethan was a good worker did not create any trouble and was viewed by management as a relatively passive personality In February of 1999 Ethan was physically attacked by another employee Stan without provocation It was not the first time Stan had attacked a coworker Approximately eight years earlier Stan had attacked another employee Vu inflicting injuries serious enough to require stitches Both Stan incident for and Vu continued working Bilson s after that According to Ethan the incident at issue in this case began when Stan approached Ethan and another worker and started screaming at them Stan then grabbed a piece of wood and began swinging it at Ethan possibly hitting him in the arm Stan then took up either a hammer or a box of screws and hit Ethan with it At that point Ethan fled the room but Stan began following him When Ethan was about 30 to 40 feet away from Stan Stan threw a box of screws hitting Ethan in the back At that point Ethan stopped his flight turned around and saw Stan holding a large metal cap Ethan then rushed toward Stan grabbing him in a bear hug in an attempt to restrain him Stan immediately struck Ethan in the head with the cap splitting the skin on his scull and causing substantial bleeding It is undisputed that Ethan did not hit Stan Jim Goetsch a member of the family that owns Bilson s interviewed witnesses including Ethan in the wake of the incident There appears to have been some difference of opinion among the witnesses as to whether Ethan had intended to fight with Stan when he turned back and just had no opportunity to strike a blow before getting clocked or merely sought to prevent Stan from pelting him with additional objects According to Goetsch Ethan himself initially stated that he got mad when he got hit with a box of screws and that he went back to fight After hearing these differing perspectives Jim Goetsch apparently concluded that Ethan was seeking only to defend himself in the conflict even when he chose to turn and rush back toward Stan rather than continuing his retreat Nonetheless Goetsch decided to fire Ethan after hearing his side of the story because he did not continue to leave the scene He made a decision to go back And that is not a decision I agreed with 1 Ethan sued Bilson s Art Studio for wrongful termination in a California court Bilson s Art Studio is located in California California law clearly recognizes the right to engage in self defense California s constitution provides All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty Additional California s penal code makes clear that resistance sufficient to prevent a public offense may be made by the party about to be injured Furthermore the concept of self defense under California law includes the right not to retreat from danger even if retreat is possible and would be safer How would you rule in this case Why Ethan stands a very good chance of winning this case based on the fact he was defending himself from any further harm Ethan tried to walk away but Stan followed and it became pretty obvious by the multiple objects at him swinging a piece of wood possibly to hit him in the arm Stan continued as Ethan fled until finally Ethan felt as if he had no choice but to restraint Stan in order to stop him While Ethan did admit he was angry about the assault the fact remains Stan has a history with the company for his temper and striking co workers Ethan under the California law has a right to defend himself whether Jim Goetsch agrees with that or Ethan s decision to return to the scene and fight Stan is a matter of personal opinion not law Ethan has every right to file for wrongful termination based on California state law protecting his rights to defend himself and Jim Goetsch admitting the decision Ethan made was one he did not agree with as well as the fact Stan should have been terminated after the first incident took place where Stan injured another co worker and both Stan and the injured co worker Vu continued working for the company What made the first incident different from this one Why was Stand fired Second response Ethan had been working for the art studio for three years at the time of the fight and maintained a clean work history Management viewed him as a good worker as a person who did not create problems and as having a passive personality Vu on the other hand has had a prior violent incident at Bilson s If Ethan can prove that he was acting in self defense I would have no problem ruling in his favor Article 1 Section 1 of the California Constitution states the following word for word All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty acquiring possessing and protecting property and pursuing and obtaining safety happiness and privacy http www leginfo ca gov index html In addition to this California has very clear laws that pertain to self defense and self defense 2 is allowed under three conditions a person reasonably believes they are in imminent danger of being unlawfully touched they believe that immediate force is needed to prevent danger and no more force is used to defend against that danger Three facts must be proven for Ethan to show he was acting in self defense that he acted reasonably to the danger the he honestly believed he was going to be harmed and that the threat of danger was imminent California s self defense laos also included the right not to retreat from danger even if retreat is possible It was clear to everyone that Ethan tried to leave the room and Stan followed behind and threw a box of screws hitting Ethan in the back It is also clear that Stand was holding a metal cap and that Ethan felt like he was once again in danger which resulted in him attempting to restrain Stan from further actions This backfired on Ethan and he ended up having a split skull On top of the self defense laws California also has put into place a penal code that states resistance sufficient to prevent a public offense may be made by the party about to be injured Ethan made the decision to go back towards Stan with the feeling of threat Ethan obviously still felt the need to defend himself Goetsch himself determined that Ethan was acting in self defense The problem here though is that