Jeffrey Tverberg, Plaintiffs and Appellants v. Fillner Construction, Inc., Defendant and Respondent

Summary

The court held that an independent contractor injured while performing inherently dangerous construction work may not impose vicarious liability on the general contractor under the peculiar-risk doctrine when responsibility for the work and its safety precautions was delegated through the contracting chain. The court rejected workers' compensation coverage as the basis for the rule and instead relied on the contractor's control over how the work was performed and corresponding responsibility for safety. It reversed the Court of Appeal and remanded for consideration of the plaintiff's unresolved direct-negligence theory.