Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara is pleased to share that Partners Alison Hurley and Nicholas Rodriguez successfully secured a grant of Summary Judgment in a complex case involving claims of wrongful death and personal injury.

This matter arose from an electrocution incident on a construction site that resulted in the passing of one individual and injuries to two others. The incident occurred when the workers were in the process of installing rebar on the fourth-floor deck of a construction project in Los Angeles, California. As they hoisted a piece of rebar past the edge of the building to attempt to fix a prior mistake, it contacted an active power line, causing the incident.

Plaintiffs included the four family members of the decedent, as well as the two injured workers. Nicholas and Alison represented the building owner, general contractor, and a hired subcontractor. Each plaintiff asserted some form of negligence and premises liability against these defendants alleging that defendants were the cause of the incident and resulting harm. However, Nicholas and Alison argued that each and every claim failed under the Privette doctrine as the incident and resulting harm occurred while the workers were in the course of their employment and under the direction and supervision of their employer. Moreover, pursuant to Privette and its progeny, defendants implicitly delegated to the employer of the workers any tort law duty defendants may have owed to ensure the safety of the workplace that was the subject of the contract. The Court agreed and found that defendants met their burden, and that plaintiffs could not present arguments to overcome the facts and prevailing authority.