Opinion ID: 2623243
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Terms of a Contract Are an Issue of Law for the Court.

Text: In negligence cases, the existence and extent of a duty of care are questions of law for the court. [6] In general, an employer of an independent contractor is not liable for negligence of the independent contractor; however if the contracting party retains control over any part of the work, they can be subject to liability for failing to exercise that control with reasonable care. [7] The question of whether a party exerted sufficient control to invoke liability under this rule is normally a question of fact left to the jury. [8] However, where rational minds could not disagree, this issue is subject to disposition by the court. [9] To determine whether the nature and extent of the control is sufficient to impose liability, both the contractual provisions and the actual exercise of control are relevant. [10] In this case, Petranovich does not suggest that MEA exercised any actual control over the Vista crew as they were working; rather, he argues that MEA did not provide the oversight that would have prevented the accident. To support his claim that MEA retained the right to control his work, he relies solely on the terms of the contract. Since interpretation of the terms of a contract is an issue of law for the court, [11] this issue is ripe for summary judgment.