Salazar v. a & J Construction of Montana, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff Juan Salazar (“Salazar”) appeals from a jury verdict finding Defendant A & J Construction of Montana, Inc. (“A & J”) not liable for injuries Salazar sustained.when he fell while working at an A & J construction project. At the time of his fall, Salazar was not wearing his fall protection harness. The jury found that although A & J was negligent, A & J’s negligence did not cause Salazar’s injuries. This is a diversity jurisdiction action governed by the substantive law of Montana. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Salazar contends that Montana law prohibited the district court from admitting evidence that A & J imposed certain safety requirements on its subcontractors. According to Salazar, the admission of such evidence permitted A & J to argue that it had delegated to subcontractors its nondel-egable duty under the Montana Safety Act, Mont.Code Ann. § 50-71-201, to provide Salazar with a safe work environment. See Olson v. Shumaker Trucking & Exca- voting Contractors, Inc., 347 Mont. 1, 15 , 196 P.3d 1265 (2008).

We need not decide this question of Montana law, because even if the district court erred by admitting evidence that A…