DONALD EUGENE GRIGGS, APPELLANT,
v.
GLENN RYDER, INDIVIDUALLY AND D/B/A GLENN RYDER CONTRACTING, ETC., ET AL., APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 1993-10-20
No. 92-1451
ERVIN, J., and SHIVERS, Senior Judge, concur.
625 So. 2d 950 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1993) Caution
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

Griggs, injured in a fall from a roof at a construction site, sued Robertson for negligent failure to maintain a safe work site and failure to require workers' compensation insurance. The court reversed summary judgment, holding that if Robertson is both the owner and general contractor, he can be liable for unsafe conditions regardless of his level of active participation.


Holding

An owner who is also the general contractor can be held liable for injuries on a construction job site regardless of active participation, and the ultimate duty to maintain a reasonably safe construction site rests with such an owner-contractor. Summary judgment was improper because the question whether Robertson is the contractor is material and disputed, and accepting the allegations as pleaded, Robertson could be liable.


Headnotes

[1] An owner who is also the general contractor can be held liable for an injury on a construction job site, and this liability does not depend upon active participation.

[2] An owner who is also the general contractor has the ultimate duty to maintain a construction site in a reasonably safe condition.

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Key Quotes

“An owner who is also the general contractor can be held liable for an injury on a construction job site and this liability does not depend upon active participation.”

Establishes the primary holding that owner-contractors have liability for unsafe conditions without requiring active participation in the dangerous activity.

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Facts & Procedural History

On June 11, 1986, Griggs was injured in a fall from a roof while working on a home under construction in Jacksonville for subcontractor Ryder, who had…

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Opinion of the Court
LAWRENCE, Judge.

LAWRENCE, Judge.

Donald Eugene Griggs (Griggs) was injured in a fall from the roof of a home under construction, in Jacksonville, on June 11, 1986. Griggs was working for subcontractor Ryder (who cannot be found); Ryder failed to secure workers’ compensation insurance. Griggs’ complaint against Robertson (aka Robinson) is based on negligent failure to maintain a safe work site, and negligent failure to require proof of workers’ compensation insurance. Griggs’ complaint alleges that Robertson individually and Robertson Construction Company acted in the dual capacity of owner and construction contractor on the home.

This court, in determining the correctness of a summary judgment, must accept the facts as pleaded. Elliott v. Dugger, 542 So. 2d 392, 394 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). Griggs alleged that Robertson is both contractor and owner of the work site where he was injured. Robertson did not answer; he instead filed an affidavit that does not deny that he is the contractor.1

An owner who is also the general contractor can be held liable for an injury on a construction job site and this liability does not depend upon active participation. Lewis v. Sims Crane Serv., Inc., 498 So. 2d 573, 574 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986) (citations omitted), review dismissed, 503 So. 2d 327 (Fla.1987). An owner who is also the general contractor has the ultimate duty to maintain a construction site in a reasonably safe condition. Id. A contractor also is liable for an unsafe work site if the construction activity is dangerous. See Peairs v. Florida Pub. Co., 132 So. 2d 561 (Fla. 1st DCA 1961) (reversing directed verdict, remanding for new trial, and holding that employer of independent contractor could be liable where employer knew of dangerous situation and failed to correct it).

Section 440.10(1), Florida Statutes (1987), furthermore’ imposes a duty upon a contractor to secure workers’ compensation, and imposes liability for payment of workers’ compensation, if the subcontractor has not secured and paid compensation. It is undisputed that the subcontractor in the instant case neither secured nor paid workers’ compensation.

The question whether Robertson is the contractor on the work site is material, and is in dispute. Accepting that Robertson is the contractor, as this court must do, the trial court erred in granting.the motion for summary judgment. We therefore reverse and remand for consistent proceedings.

It is so ordered.

ERVIN, J., and SHIVERS, Senior Judge, concur. . Robertson's affidavit states that he "neither created, approved, or was aware of any dangerous condition” on the premises and that he "did not direct the work of [Griggs] or any other employee of Glenn Ryder Contracting on the date of the alleged injury or at any other time,” and "did not interfere or meddle with the work of [Griggs] or any other employee of Glenn Ryder Contracting on the date of the alleged injury or at any other time.” Robertson, in his affidavit, does not deny that he is the contractor.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Michael v. Centex-Rooney Constr. Co., Inc., 645 So. 2d 133 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
    …der which the plaintiff actively pursued and accepted workers’ compensation benefits, as appellant did in negotiating a settlement and receiving benefits thereunder. See Escobar v. Bill Currie Ford, Inc., 247 So. 2d 311 (Fla. 1971); Griggs v. Ryder, 625 So. 2d 950 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993). Therefore, under the facts of these cases, it was improper to grant summary judgment where there were disputed factual issues. . The immediate case is distinguishable from Akins v. Hudson Pulp & Paper Co., 330 So. 2d 757 (Fla.…
  • Worthington Cmtys., Inc. v. Mejia, 28 So. 3d 79 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)
    …ev. Corp. v. Napoleon Steel Contractors, Inc., 385 So. 2d 676, 679 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980). Thus, an owner who is also acting as a general contractor “has the ultimate duty to maintain a construction site in a reasonably safe condition.” Griggs v. Ryder, 625 So. 2d 950, 951 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993); see also Lewis v. Sims Crane Serv., Inc., 498 So. 2d 573, 574 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); Atl. Coast Dev. Corp., 385 So. 2d at 679 (“Nelacar, who was the owner and general contractor and actively supervised the daily construction o…

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