Castellanos v. Tommy John, LLC

2014 UT App 48, 321 P.3d 218, 755 Utah Adv. Rep. 16, 2014 WL 783737, 2014 Utah App. LEXIS 48
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedFebruary 27, 2014
DocketNo. 20120599-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2014 UT App 48 (Castellanos v. Tommy John, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Castellanos v. Tommy John, LLC, 2014 UT App 48, 321 P.3d 218, 755 Utah Adv. Rep. 16, 2014 WL 783737, 2014 Utah App. LEXIS 48 (Utah Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

McHUGH, Judge:

T1 Plaintiff Josue Castellanos appeals from the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant Tommy John, LLC (Tommy John) on Castellanos's claims for negligent hiring and for vicarious liability based on intentional torts committed by a security company's employees. We affirm.

BACKGROUND 1

12 On August 14, 2009, Castellanos was involved in a physical altercation with security guards at a bar and restaurant owned and operated by Tommy John (the establishment). The security guards were employees of Thor Staffing, a company that had contracted with Tommy John to provide security services at the establishment. Tommy John and Thor Staffing had entered into an Independent Contractor and Work for Hire Agreement (the Agreement), which identified Thor Staffing as an independent contractor with the responsibility to determine the best methods and procedures necessary to perform its services.2 The parties agree that [222]*222Tommy John did not provide any guidance or training to, or impose any rules or regulations controlling the actions of, Thor Staffing's security guards.

13 In 2010, Castellanos filed suit against Tommy John, alleging that he suffered physical and emotional injuries as a result of being forcibly removed from the establishment by the security guards.3 Based on the theory of respondeat superior, Castellanos alleged that Tommy John was liable for the security guards' intentional torts, including assault, battery, and false imprisonment. - Castella-nos also alleged that Tommy John was liable for its own negligence in the hiring, supervision, and retention of the individual security guards. But Castellanos did not allege that Tommy John was negligent in its hiring, supervision, and retention of Thor Staffing. Tommy John later filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that it could not be held liable for the intentional torts of the security guards, because they were employees of an independent contractor, Thor Staffing. Tommy John also claimed that it was not liable for the acts of Thor Staffing, because it did not retain control over the manner of Thor Staffing's performance and because Tommy John did not participate in Thor Staffing's expulsion of Castellanos from the establishment. Finally, Tommy John asserted that it was not negligent in hiring, supervising, and retaining the individual security guards, because, as the employer of an independent contractor, it had no responsibility to exercise supervisory control over Thor Staffing or its hiring practices.

T4 In opposition to the motion for summary judgment, Castellanos argued that, as a business owner, Tommy John had a nondele-gable duty to keep its premises safe and, therefore, Tommy John was liable for Thor Staffing's breach of that duty. Castellanos also asserted that Tommy John could be vicariously liable for work done by Thor Staffing because security guard work is inherently dangerous. Finally, Castellanos argued that disputed material facts precluded summary judgment on his negligent hiring, supervision, and retention claim.

15 The district court granted summary judgment to Tommy John on all elaims and certified the judgment as final 4 The district court ruled that "under these cireumstances, where Thor Staffing maintained an independent contractor status and Tommy John was not involved and did not retain control over how Thor Staffing performed its security services, Tommy John cannot be held vicariously liable for the acts of Thor Staffing or its security guards." Castellanos timely appeals.

ISSUES AND STANDARD OF REVIEW

T6 Castellanos challenges the district court's grant of summary judgment on two grounds. First, Castellanos contends that Tommy John is vicariously liable for the acts of Thor Staffing's employees under an exception to the general rule that an employer of an independent contractor is not liable for the harmful acts of its contractor. Second, Castellanos contends that the district court erred when it held as a matter of law that Tommy John was not directly negligent in hiring, supervising, and retaining the security guards.

17 "[Slummary judgment is appropriate only when 'there is no genuine issue as to any material fact ... and the moving party is [223]*223HeL entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Penunuri v. Sundance Partners, Ltd., 2013 UT 22, ¶ 8, 301 P.3d 984 (omission in original) (quoting Utah R. Civ. P. 56(c). "An appellate court reviews a trial court's legal conclusions and ultimate grant or denial of summary judgment for correctness, and views the facts and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Orvis v. Johnson, 2008 UT 2, ¶ 6, 177 P.3d 600 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). And "because negligence cases often require the drawing of inferences from the facts, which is properly done by juries rather than judges, summary judgment is appropriate in negli-genee cases only in the clearest instances." Price v. Smith's Food & Drug Ctrs., Inc., 2011 UT App 66, ¶ 7, 252 P.3d 365 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).

ANALYSIS

I. Exceptions to the Nonliability Rule

18 In Utah, "the employer of an independent contractor is not liable for physical harm caused to another by an act or omission of the contractor or his servants." Magana v. Dave Roth Constr., 2009 UT 45, ¶ 22, 215 P.3d 143 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). The rationale for this rule is that "where the principal employer does not control the means of accomplishing the contracted work, the contractor is the proper party to be charged with the responsibility for preventing the risk [arising out of the work], and administering and distributing it." Thompson v. Jess, 1999 UT 22, ¶ 13, 979 P.2d 322 (alteration in original) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). This general rule is subject to exceptions, including (1) where the employer of the independent contractor retains control over the work directly resulting in the injury, id. T° 14, 18; (2) where the work is inherently dangerous, id. 1T 14, 29; and (8) where the injury is the result of a nondelegable duty owed by the employer to the injured person, see Price, 2011 UT App 66, ¶ 26, 252 P.3d 365. Castel-lanos claims that an exception to the general nonliability rule is present here and, therefore, that the district court improperly granted summary judgment in favor of Tommy John. For the reasons discussed below, we agree with the district court that none of these exceptions precluded summary judgment in this case.

A. Retained Control

19 In granting summary judgment, the district court held as a matter of law that Tommy John is not vicariously liable for Thor Staffing's intentional torts under a theory of retained control. Pursuant to the retained control doctrine, the employer of an independent contractor "remains liable for the contractor's actions when the employer participate[s] in or control[s] the manner in which the contractor's work is performed, and therefore owes [a] duty of care concerning the safety of the manner or method of performance implemented." Magana, 2009 UT 45, ¶ 23, 215 P.3d 143 (alterations in original) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). To determine whether an employer is liable under the retained control doctrine, Utah courts apply the active participation standard. Id. 124.

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Bluebook (online)
2014 UT App 48, 321 P.3d 218, 755 Utah Adv. Rep. 16, 2014 WL 783737, 2014 Utah App. LEXIS 48, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/castellanos-v-tommy-john-llc-utahctapp-2014.