Opinion ID: 1191953
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Retained Control Doctrine

Text: ¶ 15 Thompson charges that Jess should be subject to liability because, by requesting that the pipe be erected and instructing that it be installed over the existing pipe stub, she controlled and directed the work that caused his injuries. In so arguing, Thompson relies on the retained control doctrine, which, as set forth more fully below, is a narrow theory of liability applicable in the unique circumstance where an employer of an independent contractor exercises enough control over the contracted work to give rise to a limited duty of care, but not enough to become an employer or a master of those over whom the control is asserted. The duty in such situations is one of reasonable care under the circumstances and is confined in scope to the control asserted. ¶ 16 In 1965, the American Law Institute promulgated the retained control doctrine as section 414 of the Restatement, which states: § 414. Negligence in Exercising Control Retained by Employer One who entrusts work to an independent contractor, but who retains the control of any part of the work, is subject to liability for physical harm to others for whose safety the employer owes a duty to exercise reasonable care, which is caused by his failure to exercise his control with reasonable care. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 414 (1965). This doctrine has not been adopted formally in Utah, although similar principles were discussed in this court's early decision of Dayton v. Free, 46 Utah 277, 148 P. 408, 411-12 (1914). ¶ 17 In Dayton, this court addressed whether a company that employed an independent contractor was liable for injuries sustained by an employee of that contractor during the blasting of an underground tunnel. See id. at 411-12. Citing a number of authorities from other states, the injured employee claimed that because the company, by contract, reserved to itself certain rights pertaining to overall management of the contract work, the relation between the company and the contractors was not that of independent, but nonindependent, contractors. Id. at 411. As a result, argued the injured employee, he should be allowed to recover against the company. The court disagreed, stating: [The cited authorities] relate to instances and cases where the proprietor or employer reserved or exercised the right to superintend, direct or control the work, not only with respect to results, but also with reference to methods of procedure or means by which the result was to be accomplished, where the will and discretion of the contractor as to the time and manner of doing the work or the means and methods of accomplishing the results were subordinate and subject to that of the owner or proprietor. We do not find anything in the contract or the evidence [identified by the plaintiff] which brings this case within such a rule. Id. The court concluded that the injury had been caused by the manner in which the work was performed rather than by the nature of the work itself. See id. at 412. Because the company exercised no control over the contractor's manner of work, it owed the plaintiff no duty to warn or guard him against dangers incident to or created by the prosecution of the work, and certainly not to guard or protect him against the negligence of those who had employed him or with whom he labored. Id. ¶ 18 This court has not had opportunity to determine the precedential value of Dayton with respect to the retained control doctrine. Several federal courts applying Utah law, however, have been called upon to do so. Those courts uniformly have determined that under Dayton, a principal employer is not subject to liability for injuries arising out of its contractor's work unless the employer actively participates in the performance of the work. For instance, in Simon v. Deery Oil, 699 F.Supp. 257, 258 (D.Utah 1988), the court cited Dayton for the proposition that a principal employer retaining an independent contractor to render services has no duty to warn or train employees of the contractor, nor must the principal protect the contractor's employees from the contractor's own negligence, unless the principal has `actively participated' in the project. See also Sewell v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 606 F.2d 274, 276 (10th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1080, 100 S.Ct. 1031, 62 L.Ed.2d 763 (1980); Texaco, Inc. v. Pruitt, 396 F.2d 237, 240 (10th Cir.1968); Erwin v. Kern River Gas Transmission Co., 1997 WL 804238, , 1997 Tex.App. LEXIS 6685,  (addressing Utah law on issue). We believe the standard relied upon in these cases is correct, and we formally adopt the same. Elaboration on the contours of the standard is needed, however. ¶ 19 Under the active participation standard, a principal employer is subject to liability for injuries arising out of its independent contractor's work if the employer is actively involved in, or asserts control over, the manner of performance of the contracted work. See Conklin v. Cohen, 287 So.2d 56, 60 (Fla.1973) (holding that under active participation standard, principal employer must directly influence manner in which work is performed; no duty arises from passive nonparticipation). Such an assertion of control occurs, for example, when the principal employer directs that the contracted work be done by use of a certain mode or otherwise interferes with the means and methods by which the work is to be accomplished. See, e.g., Lewis v. N.J. Riebe Enterprises, Inc., 170 Ariz. 384, 825 P.2d 5, 7-8 (1992) (imposing liability where subcontractor's employee was injured as result of new, less safe method of work required by general contractor); Redinger v. Living, Inc., 689 S.W.2d 415, 418 (Tex.1985) (imposing liability where subcontractor was ordered to operate backhoe dangerously close to plaintiff). ¶ 20 The comments to section 414 of the Restatement provide guidance as to the active participation requirement: In order for the rule stated in this Section to apply, the employer must have retained at least some degree of control over the manner in which the work is done. It is not enough that he has merely a general right to order the work stopped or resumed, to inspect its progress or to receive reports, to make suggestions or recommendations which need not necessarily be followed, or to prescribe alterations and deviations. Such a general right is usually reserved to employers, but it does not mean that the contractor is controlled as to his methods of work, or as to operative detail. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 414 cmt. c. (1965) (emphasis added). In other words, to have actively participated in the contracted work, a principal employer must have exercised affirmative control over the method or operative detail of that work. See Grahn v. Tosco Corp., 58 Cal.App.4th 1373, 68 Cal. Rptr.2d 806, 820 (1997), rev. denied, 1997 WL 703341, 1998 Cal. LEXIS 494. [T]he degree of control necessary for the creation of a legal duty must involve either the direct management of the means and methods of the independent contractor's activities or the provision of the specific equipment that caused the injury. Id. ¶ 21 Although the requisite level of control over the contractor's manner or method of work does not rise to the level of creating a master-servant relationship, cf. Restatement § 414 cmt. a, the principal employer must exert such control over the means utilized that the contractor cannot carry out the injury-causing aspect of the work in his or her own way. Cf. id. cmt. c. A typical instance in which such an exertion of control might occur is when a principal contractor entrusts a part of the work to subcontractors, but himself or through a foreman superintends the entire job. Id. cmt. b. ¶ 22 The requisite level of control over the contractor's work is well illustrated in Lewis, 825 P.2d at 7-8. There, the general contractor, Riebe, hired the subcontractor, Garges, to install a pitched roof constructed of beams and sheets of plywood nailed to the beams. After Garges had already put the plywood in place, Riebe's on-site superintendent told Garges the roof was improperly installed and ordered it redone, specifying the use of H-clips to secure the plywood. Pursuant to this instruction, Garges employees began removing the nails from each row of plywood, installing H-clips, and then renailing the plywood to the beams. Soon thereafter, however, Riebe's superintendent instructed the Garges employees to use a different, faster method of dislodging the plywood by banging it from underneath. Because this method resulted in plywood being dislodged faster than H-clips could be installed, numerous sheets of plywood were left lying loose on top of the beams. A Garges employee stepped on the loose plywood and fell through the roof, incurring serious injuries. See id. ¶ 23 Thus, in Lewis, the general contractor interfered with the subcontractor's method of performing the work and instructed that a quicker but less safe method be implemented. A worker was injured as a direct result of the dangerous condition created by the general contractor's method. The court concluded, on the basis of these facts, that the general contractor exercised sufficient control over the means used in performing the contracted work to subject it to retained control liability. See id. at 14-15. ¶ 24 Applying these standards to the case at hand, we conclude that Jess did not actively participate in the manner in which Thompson and Jensen attempted to lift and install the steel pipe. After agreeing to erect the pipe, Jensen, not Jess, determined the method for bringing about the desired result. Jensen decided to proceed with the equipment he had with him, and by Jensen's own design, he and Thompson set up the A-frame for use as leverage, fastened the chain to the pipe using the trucker's hitch or logger's hitch technique, and hoisted the pipe with the winch on Jensen's truck. When this method was unsuccessful, Jensen and Thompson attempted to lower the pipe to the ground and, in the course of doing so, lost control of the pipe. Thompson's injury was caused by the manner of performance, implemented by Jensen, over which Jess exercised no direction, control, or supervision. The only control Jess exerted was in directing that the pipe be installed over the pipe stub. This amounted merely to control over the desired result, which is insufficient to come within the retained control doctrine. ¶ 25 Particularly revealing is the fact that Jensen returned to the site with a backhoe the day after the accident and erected the pipe without incident using the same chain-hitch method. Nothing precluded Jensen from retrieving the backhoe before attempting to hoist the pipe in the first instance. The backhoe was stored only two to three miles away at the time, and nothing suggests that Jess required Jensen to install the pipe at the moment of delivery. Jensen alone chose to attempt installation of the pipe without a backhoe. ¶ 26 Thus, because Jess did not actively participate in or otherwise exercise affirmative control over the manner or method of performance utilized by Jensen and Thompson, she owed Thompson no duty of care under the retained control doctrine. [3] The trial court was correct in so ruling.