UNIVISION HOLDINGS, INC., ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
JOSEPH E. RAMOS, ET AL., APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1994-06-07
No. 93-2055
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and JORGENSON and LEVY, JJ.
638 So. 2d 130 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1994) Negative Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Univision Holdings, Crown Center, and Hallmark appealed the denial of their motion for summary judgment based on workers' compensation immunity. The court reversed, holding that property owners who hire general contractors are statutory employers entitled to immunity under Florida law, and the plaintiff failed to establish either of the two narrow exceptions to that immunity.


Holding

Property owners who hire general contractors are statutory employers entitled to workers' compensation immunity as a matter of law. The two exceptions to this immunity—where the owner interferes with job direction or commits specific identifiable negligent acts regarding dangerous conditions—were not established here. The presence of an on-site inspector hired by the owner does not render the owner subject to suit.


Headnotes

[1] A property owner who hires a general contractor is generally considered a statutory employer entitled to workers' compensation immunity.

[2] Workers' compensation immunity may be lost if the owner interferes with the job to the extent of assuming detailed direction, thereby becoming the master of the independe…

Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“a property owner who hires a general contractor is considered a statutory employer and is generally entitled to workers' compensation immunity pursuant to section 440.11”

Establishes the foundational rule that property owners hiring contractors have immunity

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Univision owned television studios and hired general contractor Austin to remodel and construct new facilities. Univision employed Crown as an on-site…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Univision Holdings, Inc. (Univision), Crown Center Redevelopment Corporation (Crown), and Hallmark Cards, Inc. (Hallmark) appeal from an order denying their motion for final summary judgment based on workers’ compensation immunity. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 9.130(a)(3)(C)(vi), Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure. For the following reasons, we reverse.

Univision owns television studios in Miami. It executed a general contract with The Austin Company (Austin) to remodel an existing structure and construct new television studios. Univision, having Httle experience in the construction field, employed Crown to serve as a consultant on the job site as the “owner’s representative.” During the construction phase of the new studios, Zion Steel Erectors (Zion) was called on to erect the structural steel as a subcontractor for Austin. Joseph Ramos, an employee of Zion, was injured while working for Zion at the job site. Ramos sued Univision, Crown, and Hallmark (the parent corporation of both Univision and Crown), alleging negfigence in fading to provide a safe workplace. The three defendants raised the affirmative defense of immunity from tort liability pursuant to section 440.11, Florida Statutes (1989), and moved for final summary judgment based on workers’ compensation immunity.

The trial court denied the motion.

The trial court erred in finding that defendants are not entitled to workers’ compensation immunity, as a property owner who hires a general contractor is considered a statutory employer and is generally entitled to workers’ compensation immunity pursuant to section 440.11. See Croon v. Quayside Assocs., Ltd., 464 So. 2d 178,180 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. denied, 476 So. 2d 673 (Fla.1985). There are two exceptions to this general rule.

First, “an owner may be held liable if he interferes or meddles with the job to the extent of assuming the detailed direction of it, and thus becomes the master of the independent contractor’s employee.” City of Miami v. Perez, 509 So. 2d 343, 345 (Fla. 3d DCA) (citing Conklin v. Cohen, 287 So. 2d 56 (Fla.1973)), rev. denied, 519 So. 2d 987 (Fla. 1987). “Second, if the owner has been a passive nonparticipant, in order to impose liability one or more specific identifiable acts, i.e., acts either negligently creating or negligently approving the dangerous condition resulting in the injury or death to the contractor’s employee, must be established.” City of Miami, 509 So. 2d at 346; Conklin, 287 So. 2d at 60. As Ramos has not established either of these two exceptions, Univision is immune from suit as a matter of law.

Furthermore, the presence of Crown as an on-site inspector hired by Univision to observe the progress of the work and enforce contractual provisions concerning workplace safety does not render either Crown or Uni-vision subject to suit. See Skow v. Department of Transp., 468 So. 2d 422 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985); City of Miami, 509 So. 2d at 347.1

The trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion for final summary judgment. We reverse the order and remand this case with directions to enter final summary judgment for defendants.

Reversed and remanded with directions.

. As Hallmark could only be vicariously liable, it too was entitled to final summary judgment.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Ramos v. Univision Holdings, Inc., 655 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 1995)
    …WELLS, Justice. We have for review Univision Holdings, Inc. v. Ramos, 638 So. 2d 130 (Fla.3d DCA 1994), which expressly and directly conflicts with the opinions in Jones v. Florida Power Corp., 72 So. 2d 285 (Fla.1954), Conklin v. Cohen, 287 So. 2d 56 (Fla.1973), and Hogan v. Deerfield 21 Corp., 605 So. 2d 979 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992). W…
  • Morales v. State, 172 So. 3d 469 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015)
    …9(1), Fla. Stat. (2014). Petition denied. Order to show cause issued. . Smith v. State, 598 So. 2d 1063 (Fla.1992). . In addition, Morales has filed the following petitions and appeals in this Court since his 1993 re-sentencing: Morales v. State, 638 So. 2d 130 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994) (Mem); Morales v. State, 654 So. 2d 929 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (Table); Morales v. State, 661 So. 2d 836 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (Table); Morales v. State, 681 So. 2d 288 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (Table); Morales v. Singletary, 741 So. 2d 1274 (…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw