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Bacoka v. Best Buy Stores, L.P., No. B306900, 2021 Cal. App. LEXIS 913 (Ct. App. Oct. 29, 2021)

Best Buy is not liable for an independent contractor's negligent installation of a Best Buy washer on the plaintiff's premises which resulted in extensive water damage.  Best Buy hired firm 1 to transport Best Buy products to purchasers' properties.  Firm 1 contracted with local transportation companies to provide the actual transportation and installation services.  The local company that transported and… Read More

Gonzalez v. Mathis, No. S247677, 2021 Cal. LEXIS 5823 (Aug. 19, 2021)

Ordinarily, a person who hires an independent contractor is not liable for injuries suffered by the contractor's employees on the job.  Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689.  In Kinsman v. Unocal Corp. (2005) 37 Cal.4th 659, the court held that a landowner who hires an independent contractor can be held liable for injuries to workers caused by latent… Read More

Sandoval v. Qualcomm, Inc.

by Jan T. Chilton |

A new trial may properly be ordered on the sole issue of the comparative fault of various defendants, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in doing so here when there was much evidence that independent contractor defendant was far more at fault than hirer defendant for failing to warn plaintiff that a circuit breaker was still engaged—yet… Read More