THE NEGLIGENCE OF AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR

Allstate Ins. Co. v. EDELWEISS OF NYC, INC., 2021 NY Slip Op 50054 - NY: City Court, Civil Court January 28, 2021:

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Ahuva Ehrenfeld (AE) was driving to school on the morning of January 18, 2018, AE was driving her parents' car between 9 and 10 am in the morning. The car was a 2015 Honda Odyssey. AE was driving on the service lane by Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. AE was driving at approximately 20 miles an hour, when she felt an impact on the right side of the vehicle. The impact came from a car that was parked on the right side. GM opened the door of the parked vehicle, hitting AE's car as it passed by. GM was working as a valet that morning for an event at Temple Beth Torah. GM had been hired for that event by Defendant. The parties stipulated at trial that GM was an independent contractor of Defendant, rather than an employee.

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The primary defense asserted by Defendant is that it bears no liability for the damage done to the Honda, because the valet who did the damage is an independent contractor.

However, the court finds that Defendant is liable notwithstanding the stipulation that GM was an independent contractor.

The Court of Appeals has held that a defendant who employs an independent contractor to perform services that the defendant has undertaken to perform, is liable for the negligence of the independent contractor (Miles v. R & M Appliance Sales, 26 NY2d 451).

In so holding, the Court adopted the applicable rule from the Restatement of Torts, which provides:

One who employs an independent contractor to perform services for another which are accepted in the reasonable belief that the services are being rendered by the employer or by his servants, is subject to liability for physical harm caused by the negligence of the contractor in supplying such services, to the same extent as though the employer were supplying them himself or by his servants (Restatement, 2d, Torts, § 429).

In the case at bar, it is clear that Defendant is liable for the negligence of its parking attendant, notwithstanding the attendant's status as independent contractor rather than employee.

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