The Supreme Court holds that an employer can be liable for its negligence to the employees of independent contractors it hires, so long as the employer retains sufficient control over the independent contractor to create a legal duty to exercise that control with reasonable care. Because the testimony presented by the parties to the Superior Court conflicted on the extent of control the employer retained over the independent contractor in question, a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the employer retained sufficient control to create a legal duty to the employee of the independent contractor and summary judgment was inappropriate. Therefore, the Supreme Court reversed the Superior Court's grant of summary judgment.
Supreme Court Of The Virgin Islands