Bryan D. Konar v. PFL Life Insurance Company

Summary

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed summary judgment for PFL Life Insurance Company in a negligence action arising from an assault at a shopping mall. The majority held that the independent-contractor rule barred imputing the security contractor's alleged negligence to PFL and declined to adopt Restatement (Second) of Torts § 425 because the complaint was treated as asserting general negligence rather than premises liability. Two justices dissented, concluding that the complaint adequately alleged premises liability and that a commercial landowner's duty to provide reasonably safe premises could not be delegated to an independent contractor.

Holdings

1. Summary judgment for PFL was proper because RIBI was an independent contractor, and under the general independent-contractor rule PFL was not liable for RIBI's alleged negligent security services absent an applicable exception.
2. The complaint did not assert a premises-liability claim because it alleged only a general claim of negligent failure to provide security and did not allege the landowner's duty to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition or otherwise provide fair notice of a premises-liability theory.
3. The court declined to adopt Restatement (Second) of Torts § 425 because the section applies to premises-liability claims, and adopting it would not affect the outcome of the plaintiff's general negligence claim.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Superior Court properly granted summary judgment on Konar's general negligence claim under the independent-contractor rule.
2. Whether Konar's complaint adequately asserted a premises-liability claim that would impose a nondelegable duty on PFL to maintain reasonably safe premises and provide reasonable security.
3. Whether the Rhode Island Supreme Court should adopt Restatement (Second) of Torts § 425 concerning an owner's liability for an independent contractor's negligent failure to maintain land open to the public in a reasonably safe condition.

Disposition

affirmed