Ray

An employee of an independent contractor was killed when construction materials blew off a bridge in high winds and struck him in the back of the head. In the ensuing litigation, the owner of the project and the general contractor moved for summary judgment, contending there was no basis for liability as a matter of law, under the rationale of Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689 [ 21 Cal.Rptr.2d 72 , 854 P.2d 721 ] and Toland v. Sunland Housing Group, Inc. (1998) 18 Cal.4th 253 [ 74 Cal.Rptr.2d 878 , 955 P.2d 504 ]. The trial court agreed and granted summary judgment.

Appellants contend the trial court erred because, as recently made clear in Hooker v. Department of Transportation (2002) 27 Cal.4th 198 [ 115 Cal.Rptr.2d 853 , 38 P.3d 1081 ], the Privette/Toland rationale leaves room for a cause of action against a property owner or a general contractor based on a theory of direct negligence. Appellants further explain that, under the circumstances, the project owner and the general contractor had a duty to close the road on which the decedent was killed and had they only done so, the accident would not have occurred. We agree that the Privette/Toland…