All Plaintiff's Claims Dismissed With Prejudice in Premises Liability Case

Dallas partners Jennifer Aufricht and Christa Hykaway and associate Michael Huffstutler were granted a Motion for Summary Judgment against all of Plaintiff’s claims, including negligence, premises liability, negligence per se, gross negligence, OSHA violations, malice, negligent activity, and negligent undertaking. The case was dismissed with prejudice for a claim in excess of $1 million.

Background

An employee of a sub-subcontractor filed suit against the general contractor after the employee sustained injuries from a fall off the roof of a one-story home where he was not wearing any safety or fall protection. The court considered whether in this case, the general contractor owed a duty to the employee of the sub-subcontractor.

Analysis

The court applied the independent contractor doctrine to determine that the general contractor in this case (1) owed no legal duty of care to the employee of the sub-subcontractor; (2) exercised no contractual or actual control over the specific method or manner of the employee’s work; and (3) that a roof was considered an open and obvious condition, especially when viewing the specific facts which showed that the claimant was a seasoned roofer who chose not to wear fall protection.