Recently, the firm secured a dismissal in favor of its client, the largest homebuilder in the United States. The plaintiff filed suit against an independent contractor as well as the homebuilder under the theory of vicarious liability. Generally, under Louisiana Law, employers can be held liable for the acts of their employees when the employee is acting within the course and scope of his or her employment. However, there are a number of exceptions that affect this general rule. What happens when the employer has an independent contractor agreement in place? To what extent, if any, can a contractor be held liable for the acts of an alleged employee on the way to a job site? These issues became a point of contention in the case, which has been ongoing for over a year.

Throughout the litigation, the plaintiff made numerous attempts at settlement and was seeking to hold our client liable for over $250,000 in damages. In the end, because of our aggressive briefing and persuasive oral argument, the Judge granted our motion for summary judgment, and the plaintiff did not recover a single dollar from our client. The case was successfully briefed and argued by Trenton Ball. Whether your company is involved in litigation or you simply have questions regarding the impact of various provisions in your contracts, feel free to give us a call.