Villafana

McINTYRE, J.

Decedent Jose Villafana, the employee of a subcontractor, was killed in a forklift accident at a gasoline station that was under construction. His widow, Teresa Villafana, and their four children (collectively the Villafanas) brought this wrongful death action against the general contractor, Cameo Pacific Construction Company, Inc. (Cameo), and its jobsite supervisor, Robert Martin. The Villafanas allege the defendants were negligent in requiring the subcontractor to unload gasoline dispensers—the large apparatuses from which gasoline is pumped—150 feet from the island where they would be installed, requiring the subcontractor to transport them by forklift, and in not implementing safety precautions during their transportation.

The question we decide here is whether Cameo may be liable under a retained control theory because it had authority over jobsite safety issues and directed subcontractors and suppliers where to unload deliveries. We join the First District Court of Appeal, Division Four, in concluding that under the rationale of Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689 , 21 Cal.Rptr.2d 72 , 854 P.2d 721 ( Privette ) and Toland v. Sunland Housing Group,…