![]() ![]() Blackwell appealed and the Fourth District Appellate court reversed the trial court’s ruling on the ground that Vasilas had not met his initial burden of persuasion. The trial court rejected this argument and granted summary judgment in Vasilas’ favor. ![]() In opposition to the motion, Blackwell argued that pursuant to Labor Code section 2750.5, Vasilas failed to prove that Gomez was an independent contractor because he did not present evidence that Gomez was licensed. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689 and subsequent cases provided that the hirer of an independent contractor could not be held liable in tort when the contractor’s negligence caused harm to others. Vasilas filed a motion for summary judgment in which Vasilas argued that Privette v. Blackwell fell and was injured.īlackwell sued Vasilas for general negligence arguing that because the scaffolding was inherently dangerous, Vasilas could be held liable for tort damages under the Peculiar Risk Doctrine because Gomez’ negligent installation of the scaffolding had caused injuries to others. However, in the process of climbing to the roof, Blackwell stepped off the rung of his ladder onto the scaffolding installed by Gomez and it collapsed. On the day of the accident, Blackwell brought his own materials to the worksite, and used his ladder to climb to the roof to install the gutters. Vasilas never observed any problems with the scaffolding and it appeared safe. Gomez performed his work, including installing scaffolding, independently without any direction or input from Vasilas. He hired two contractors: Enrique Gomez Jimenez (Gomez) to perform stucco work on one of his properties, and Randall Blackwell (“Blackwell”) to perform rain gutter work. ![]() Vasilas bought, repaired, and sold real estate. Vasilas serves as an important reminder to a homeowner to make sure that they hire a licensed contractor because if an unlicensed contractor injures a third party, the homeowner is presumed to be the contractor’s employer and can potentially be liable for the contractor’s negligence based on theories of negligent hiring or supervision, or respondeat superior. ![]()
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