The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion today addressing the vicarious liability of a principal contractor for its independent contractors. The Plaintiff was employed as a crane mechanic by Gulf Crane Services and was working on an offshore platform owned and operated by Dynamic Offshore Resources, LLC. He was injured in a personnel basket transfer from a boat to the platform. He sued Dynamic, alleging it was vicariously liable for the negligence of its subcontractors, including the crane operator. No Dynamic personnel were present on the platform.
The District Court dismissed the case on summary judgment and the Plaintiff appealed to the Fifth Circuit. The Court noted that under Louisiana law, a principal is not liable for the activities of an independent contractor committed in the course of performing its duties under the contract, with two exceptions: 1) the principal is liable for ultrahazardous activities contracted out to an independent contractor, and 2) the principal is liable if it has operational control over the acts of the independent contractor or authorizes unsafe practices.
The Court determined that a personnel basket transfer is not an ultrahazardous activity, regardless of the high wind that allegedly caused the basket to suddenly fall eight feet. The law does not consider the specific conditions of an activity to determine whether it qualifies as ultrahazardous. Furthermore, the Court found the Plaintiff could point to no evidence that Dynamic authorized an unsafe practice. Instead, Plaintiff testified that he specifically requested the personnel basket transfer in high winds despite his “stop work authority”. Dynamic in no way authorized an unsafe working condition. Therefore the Plaintiff was unable to establish that his injury fell into either exception to the vicarious liability rule and Dynamic could not be held liable for the activities of its independent contractors. The Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in Dynamic’s favor.
Davis v. Dynamic Offshore Resources, LLC