Supreme Court of Delaware

In the context of the scope of a general contractor's liability for injuries sustained by an independent contractor's employee, a general contractor who supervises job site safety conditions by making checklists, reporting safety issues to the independent contractor, and even terminating the independent contractor if the safety issues persist, has not assumed a duty to protect the safety of the independent contractor's employees. Also, the Restatement (Second) of Torts (1965) section 411 does not support a cause of action in favor of the employees of an independent contractor based on an general contractor's alleged failure to exercise due care in selecting the independent contractor.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/17/2007
• Published 07/18/2007

Judges

• BERGER, Justice., Before STEELE, Chief Justice, BERGER and RIDGELY, Justices.

Court

• Supreme Court of Delaware

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• I. Barry Guerke, Esquire, of Parkowski, Guerke & Swayze, P.A., Dover, Delaware;  and Mark J. Lewinter, Esquire and James A. Keating, Esquire of Anapol, Schwartz, Weiss, Cohan, Feldman & Smalley, P.C., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Appellant., Thomas C. Crumplar, Esquire and David A. Arndt, Esquire of Jacobs & Crumplar, P.A., Wilmington, Delaware;  Christopher J. Curtin, Esquire and William W. Erhart, Esquire, Co-Chairs of Delaware Trial Lawyers Association Amicus Committee, Wilmington, Delaware, Amicus Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• David G. Culley, Esquire, of Tybout, Redfearn & Pell, Wilmington, Delaware for Appellee.