GRSM Partner Hiawatha Northington II and Senior Counsel Sheridan Carr successfully secured a summary judgment dismissal on behalf of the firm’s client, a global industrial minerals company, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Northern Division.
The case arose from an injury sustained by an outside contractor engaged to repair a piece of heavy machinery located on-site at the client’s facility in Mississippi. In the course of completing one of his tasks, the contractor slipped from a ladder and suffered a significant injury to his hand and shoulder. The contractor initially filed suit in Mississippi state court, asserting that GRSM’s client negligently failed to provide a safe place to work by failing to provide a better ladder or other more stable work platform for working on the machine. The plaintiff sought compensatory damages for lost wages and past and future medical expenses, as well as non-economic damages, totaling more than seven figures.
After the matter was removed to federal court, Northington and Carr aggressively defended the client through written discovery and depositions, eventually pursuing a motion for summary judgment. In seeking dismissal of the claims, Northington and Carr relied upon Miss Code Ann. § 11-1-66, which precludes liability against a property owner for an independent contractor’s injuries resulting from dangers the contractor knew or should have known about, as well as upon the “intimately connected” doctrine, which immunizes a property owner from claims by an independent contractor if the contractor’s injury arises out of, or is closely related to, the work that he was hired to perform. Here, Northington and Carr demonstrated that the contractor knew, or should have known, of the potential dangers related to the specific task he was hired to perform, which led to his injuries. Further, they established that the contractor’s work was “intimately connected” with the machine he was engaged to repair. The district court agreed in a detailed opinion and order, granting summary judgment on both theories advanced by GRSM and dismissing the contractor’s entire complaint with prejudice.
This victory underscores GRSM’s ability and experience in defending complex claims arising from workplace injuries, both in the products liability and premises liability context. Focused discovery and development of key facts situated this difficult high-exposure case for disposition without trial and led to the best outcome for the client.