PROLOGUE

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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE
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Brick-by-Brick Series
If You Build It: The Dream Home Remodel Gone WrongM
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www.manningllp.com February 2012
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COPYRIOHT AND REPRODLCTION NOTICE. Copyriht 2012, Mannin e Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP. All rihts reserved. Reproduction ot
all or part ot the contents in any torm other than tor individual use is expressly prohibited. The document is published by the law tirm ot MANNINO e
KA$$, ELLROD, RAMIREZ, TRE$TER LLP as a service to our clients, the leal protession, the insurance industy, and others with interests in leal issues.
All intormation provided is ot a eneral nature and not intended nor represented to replace protessional, specialized leal advice. The articles provided by
contributin authors do not necessarily retlect the views ot the tirm.
A,-F)E-GG4.G)is an attorney with Mannin e Kass, Ellrod Ramirez, Trester LLP. He is a litiation attorney and practices in the areas
ot land use, construction and premises detense. He can be reached directly at (619) 5656+56 or via email at otpmanninllp.com.
This led to the birth ot the Peculiar Risk Doctrine, which holds that a person who hires an independent contractor to pertorm work that is
inherently danerous (i.e. is a peculiar risk") can be held liable tor damaes when the contractor's nelient pertormance ot that work causes injuries to
others. An independent contractor is the leal name tor a person who is contracted to do work but has treedom to choose how the work is done. Over
time, Calitornia courts extended this basic idea to cover not just innocent bystanders, but the employees ot nelient independent contractors. Not surpris
inly, the pendulum quickly swun in the opposite direction and the leislature enacted the Workers' Compensation Act, so courts bean to chane their
view.
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Courts quickly realized that injured employees could et a double dip" by collectin workers compensation and suin the property owner. Out
ot this untairness Calitornia courts decided two cases that created a new rule that protected property owners who hire contractors to pertorm workPrivette
v. $uperior Court and Toland v. $unland Housin Oroup.
In Privette, the owner ot a duplex hired a rootin company to install a new root. The rootin company's employee was injured when he tell ott
a ladder and the bucket ot hot tar he was carryin tell on top ot him. He sued the duplex owner, claimin that the owner's nelient selection ot the
contractor was a cause ot the injuries he suttered. The Court ruled that the property owner could not be liable tor the injuries ot the rooter's employee.
In the next case, Toland, the plaintitt was an employee ot a subcontractor, injured when a wall tell on him. A subcontractor is a person or
company hired by the main contractor to do specitic work on a project. Electricians, plumbers and carpenters are examples ot trades typically pertormed
by subcontractors on lare projects. The employee sued and said that the law in Privette did not apply it the property owner had tailed to include precau
tions tor satety in the contract tor hire. The $upreme Court quickly claritied that its rulin in Privette applied even it the contractual precautions tor satety
were not in place because the owner hired a contractor to be responsible tor the satety ot its workers.
74P)QR/PS)ARP)AT)DUS)J44VGM)>F4V/.0)DUS)>W3S2P/4.
Calitornia courts have evolved several exceptions to the exception. A tew remainin questions Mr. and Mrs. $mith may be asked are did they...
1) Retain control tor the satety ot the work or how it would be done.
2) Provide any ot the equipment on the job.
3) Foret to disclose some hidden hazard on the job site that led to the injury.
+) Breach a reulatory duty.
Each ot the exceptions described above involves a tactintensive inquiry, so settin aside some time to really help your attorney understand the
project will be important. The cautious attorney will speak with her clients, but also with the desiner, the independent contractorit he or she is willin
and possibly even other subcontractors who were on the project.
Fortunately tor those considerin new construction or remodel projects, the $upreme Court recently took additional steps to limit property
owner liability.
N4XSF/.0)DUS)H41SG)8.)DUS)?-+M)<R2FS,S)N4RFP)N1-F/T/3-P/4.
In 2011, the $upreme Court pumped the brakes on the property owner liability tor injuries to contractors' employees. In $eabriht Insurance
Co. v. L$ Airways Inc, an injured employee and the insurance company who paid his workers' compensation benetits sued L$ Airways because a satety
uard required by CalO$HA was missin trom the conveyor. CalO$HA is a state aency that reulates workplace satety, includin at construction projects.
The $upreme Court held that L$ Airways was not liable. The Court explained that, because it hired the independent contractor, L$ Airways had passed
its responsibility on to the contractor and theretore it could not be responsible tor the employee's injuries.
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By now, their attorney has thorouhly dianosed the situation, done enouh investiation to teel comtortable with the analysis, and prepared to
advise Mr. and Mrs. $mith about the lawsuit. Fortunately Mr. $mith and Mrs. $mith areed to only hire a licensed contractor. And they are ratetul that
the contract ]ill dratted tor them two years ao when they started thinkin about the project included a clause that required XYZ builders to have excess
insurance coverae and explicitly put the responsibility ot its workers on the contractor. The steps ]ill the Lawyer took in the early staes paid ott to avoid
the pittalls they would not have seen comin. Now the attorney can have Mr. and Mrs. $mith down to the ottice, ive them the ood news, and start
workin on that victory celebration.