Kinney

Plaintiff Michael Kinney brought this action to recover damages for personal injuries he sustained when he fell from the scaffolding of a steel building he was employed by PB Erectors (PBE) to help construct. He contends that the general contractor on the project, defendant CSB Constraction, Inc. (CSB), negligently failed to require PBE, a subcontractor, to provide adequate protection against falls. The trial court granted summary judgment for CSB. The question presented is whether a general contractor who claims the power to control all safety procedures on the worksite may be liable to the injured employee of a subcontractor for failing to direct the subcontractor to take safety precautions where there is no evidence that any conduct by the general contractor contributed affirmatively to the injuries. We hold that in light of recent California Supreme Court holdings limiting the liability of general contractors for injuries to employees of subcontractors, liability cannot be imposed on the general contractor based upon a mere failure to require the subcontractor to take safety precautions, where the general contractor’s failure is not shown to have affirmatively…