Otis Felder (Partner-Los Angeles, CA) and Vladyslava Turner (Associate-Los Angeles, CA) obtained summary judgment in a case where the plaintiff/workman fell from a roof and sued our client property owner and property manager claiming an unsafe condition. Following his five-story fall, the workman was hospitalized for months and, although he received workers’ compensation benefits, claimed millions of dollars in medical expenses, loss of income, and pain and suffering. The case was originally removed to federal court then voluntarily dismissed only to be re-filed in state court, adding defendants, to prevent federal jurisdiction. After filing for summary judgment based on the Privette Doctrine, a judicially created prohibition against suing a property owner when an employee of an independent contractor suffers an injury during the course and scope of work, Vlada and Otis convinced the LA Superior Court that the plaintiff could not meet his burden in this case as the uncontroverted testimony showed that the edges of the roof had no protective parapet and presented an open and obvious risk of which the plaintiff's supervisor and employer should have been aware. The court agreed finding there was no evidence supporting the plaintiff's claims. The Court noted that when a person or organization hires an independent contractor, the hirer presumptively delegates to the contractor the responsibility to do the work safely. Once the presumption arises, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether one of the exceptions to the Privette Doctrine applies, and if it cannot, the defendant is entitled to summary judgment.