{"id":893189,"date":"2017-11-15T16:02:32","date_gmt":"2017-11-15T23:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=893189"},"modified":"2017-11-15T16:02:32","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T23:02:32","slug":"construction-law-practice-tip-general-contractor-liability-subcontractor-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-law-practice-tip-general-contractor-liability-subcontractor-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction Law Practice Tip: General Contractor Liability for Subcontractor Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pierre Grosdidier | Haynes and Boone LLP<\/a> | October 26, 2017<\/p>\n

AIA Document A201TM, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction (the \u201cGeneral Conditions\u201d), is a form agreement often incorporated into a main contract between an owner and a general contractor.1 The General Conditions place project control squarely in the hands of the general contractor. The issue is important because who controls the project might end up owing a duty of care to injured independent contractor employees.2 For example, in\u00a0Saenz v. David & David Constr. Co., Inc.<\/em>, Saenz, an independent contractor employee, appealed the trial court\u2019s take-nothing judgment in favor of David & David after a crane load struck him on the head, precipitating his fall from a roof.3 Saenz argued,\u00a0inter alia<\/em>, that the contract between the owner and David & David, and the subcontract between the latter and Saenz\u2019s employer gave David & David control as a matter of law. The contract between the owner and the general contractor contained clauses almost identical to those in General Conditions \u00a7\u00a7 3.3.1, 5.3, and 10.2.1.4 The contract provided that<\/p>\n

[t]he contractor shall be solely, subject to the terms of Article 4, responsible for and have control over construction means, methods, techniques, sequences and procedures and for coordinating all portions of the work under the contract unless contract documents give other specific instructions concerning these matters[;]5<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

and that<\/p>\n

[t]he contractor shall take all necessary precautions for safety and shall provide all necessary protection to prevent damage, injury or loss to all persons on the work and other persons who may be affected thereby.6<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But the contract also required the general contractor to pass its obligations on to its subcontractors via the following clause:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The contractor shall require each subcontractor, to the extent of the work to be performed by the subcontractor, to be bound to the contractor by terms of the contract documents and to assume towards the contractor all obligations and responsibilities which the contractor by the contract documents assumes towards the owner and architect.7<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The court held that this last \u201ccontract clause modified the previous control clauses.\u201d The\u00a0subcontract<\/em>\u00a0gave effect to this last clause with the following clause:<\/p>\n

Subcontractor . . . assumes the responsibilities of an employer for performance of the Work and acts as an employer of one or more employees by paying wages, directing activities, and performing other similar functions. Subject to the right (but not the obligation) of [David & David] to direct Subcontractor or its employees to cease or change unsafe work practices.\u00a0Subcontractor is an independent contractor, free to determine the manner in which the Work is performed<\/em>. (emphasis added).8<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The court held that the contracts assigned \u201cthe contractor\u2019s responsibility for controlling the construction means, methods, techniques, sequences and procedures\u201d to the subcontractor. The court could not agree, in light of the two contracts, that \u201cDavid & David\u2019s control of the subcontractor\u2019s work is uncontroverted and thus established as a matter of law.\u201d9 The court overruled Saenz\u2019s issue on appeal and affirmed the trial court\u2019s take-nothing judgment in favor of David & David. This next case shows what happens when the subcontract does not include a provision that passes project control to the subcontractor for the latter\u2019s scope of work.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Maggi v. RAS Dev., Inc.<\/em>, the plaintiff, a subcontractor\u2019s employee, fell from a height on a construction site and died of his injuries.10 A jury awarded Maggi\u2019s estate $3.3 million against RAS Development, the general contractor. On appeal, RAS Development argued,\u00a0inter alia<\/em>, that it should not be held liable for Maggi\u2019s death because it did not control or supervise his work. The subcontract between RAS Development and Maggi\u2019s employer \u201cexpressly incorporated\u201d AIA Document A201TM, including form language from \u00a7\u00a7 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 10.1, 10.2.1, 10.2.3, and 10.2.6, which gave the\u00a0contractor<\/em>\u00a0control of the worksite and responsibility for its safety. For example, the General Condition\u2019s \u00a7 3.3.1 stated that<\/p>\n

[t]he Contractor shall supervise and direct the Work, using the Contractor\u2019s best skill and attention. The Contractor shall be solely responsible for and have control over, construction means, methods, techniques, sequences and procedures and for coordinating all portions of the Work under the Contract, unless the Contract documents give other specific instructions concerning these matters.11<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The court of appeals held that these clauses made it \u201cclear that the parties intended RAS Development to be responsible for supervising, directing, and controlling the construction project,\u201d and it affirmed the trial court\u2019s judgment.12 We can infer that the subcontract did not contain a provision passing control to the subcontractor and making the latter an independent contractor, free to perform its work, as in\u00a0Saenz<\/em>.13 RAS Development might have avoided a holding of control-by-contract had such a provision been in place.14<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pierre Grosdidier | Haynes and Boone LLP | October 26, 2017 AIA Document A201TM, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction (the \u201cGeneral Conditions\u201d), is a form agreement often incorporated into a main contract between an owner and a general contractor.1 The General Conditions place project control squarely in the hands of the general contractor.… Continue reading Construction Law Practice Tip: General Contractor Liability for Subcontractor Injury<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,8782],"tags":[9895,72,18,775,361,157],"class_list":["post-893189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-contracts","category-personal-injury","tag-advise-consult","tag-construction-contracts-2","tag-contractor","tag-duty-of-care","tag-personal-injury","tag-subcontractor","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nConstruction Law Practice Tip: General Contractor Liability for Subcontractor Injury - 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