As a general rule an independent contractor cannot create tort liability for his employer
|
Liability for independent contractors Show Published by a LexisNexis Commercial expertThe following Commercial practice note provides comprehensive and up to date legal information covering:
Remaining liable for acts and omissions of contractorsCommercial entities often delegate obligations or services that they owe to third parties to contractors. Although this may be possible to an extent, an engaging party may remain liable for the acts and omissions of such contractors. This may arise in the context of contractual liability, agency, vicarious liability and non-delegable duties. It is therefore important when engaging independent contractors to understand the scope of any continuing liability to be able to advise on risk, limitation and exclusion of liability and insurance. This Practice Note focuses on vicarious liability and non-delegable duties when engaging independent contractors. The position in contractContractual rights and benefits are (subject to express contractual provisions to the contrary) assignable, and contractual obligations or burdens are not. In certain circumstances contractual obligations or burdens may be performed by contractors or subcontractors. When permitted and performed in accordance with an engaging party’s contractual obligations to third parties, such contracting will discharge the engaging party’s contractual obligations, for example to its customers, but it will remain primarily liable for such contractual obligations and there will be no privity of contract between the engaging party’s customers and the independent contractor. Subject to some limitations (for example, see Practice Note: Exclusion and limitation of liability), it is open to the parties to agree contractual terms that allocate
 Access this content for free with a trial of LexisNexis and benefit from:
Read Online (Free) relies on page scans, which are not currently available to screen readers. To access this article, please contact JSTOR User Support . We'll provide a PDF copy for your screen reader. With a personal account, you can read up to 100 articles each month for free. Get StartedAlready have an account? Log in Monthly Plan
Yearly Plan
Log in through your institution Purchase a PDFPurchase this article for $34.00 USD. How does it work?
journal article LIABILITY FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS IN CONTRACT AND TORT: DUTIES TO ENSURE THAT CARE IS TAKENThe Cambridge Law Journal Vol. 74, No. 1 (March 2015) , pp. 109-139 (31 pages) Published By: Cambridge University Press https://www.jstor.org/stable/24693762 Read and download Log in through your school or library Alternate access options For independent researchers Read Online Read 100 articles/month free Subscribe to JPASS Unlimited reading + 10 downloads Purchase article $34.00 - Download now and later Abstract Liability for independent contractors generally poses few difficulties in the law of contract, whereas in tort it is a vexed question. The difficulties are only compounded by the governing concept: the so-called "non-delegable duty". This article explains the differences and argues that no easy parallels can be drawn from the contractual position to answer the riddles in tort. Neither does "assumption of responsibility" help. There is undoubtedly a case for recognising vicarious liability for independent contractors when businesses and public bodies alike now outsource so many of their functions. This issue needs to be confronted squarely, not through unconvincing contractual analogies. Journal Information The Cambridge Law Journal publishes articles on all aspects of law. Special emphasis is placed on contemporary developments, but the journal's range includes jurisprudence and legal history. An important feature of the journal is the Case and Comment section, in which members of the Cambridge Law Faculty and other distinguished contributors analyse recent judicial decisions, new legislation and current law reform proposals. The articles and case notes are designed to have the widest appeal to those interested in the law - whether as practitioners, students, teachers, judges or administrators - and to provide an opportunity for them to keep abreast of new ideas and the progress of legal reform. Each issue also contains an extensive section of book reviews. Current issues of the journal are available at http://www.journals.cambridge.org/clj Publisher Information Cambridge University Press (www.cambridge.org) is the publishing division of the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s leading research institutions and winner of 81 Nobel Prizes. Cambridge University Press is committed by its charter to disseminate knowledge as widely as possible across the globe. It publishes over 2,500 books a year for distribution in more than 200 countries. Cambridge Journals publishes over 250 peer-reviewed academic journals across a wide range of subject areas, in print and online. Many of these journals are the leading academic publications in their fields and together they form one of the most valuable and comprehensive bodies of research available today. For more information, visit http://journals.cambridge.org. |
