Buitrago v. Rohr
Florida District Court of Appeal
672 So. 2d 646 (1996)
- Written by Serena Lipski, JD
Facts
Chuck Rohr (defendant) caused a car accident, severely injuring two people and killing another. Rohr owned Canary Enterprises, Inc., a company that used hot- and cold-air balloons to display advertisements. Canary had many clients and its own employees. On the day of the accident, Rohr was displaying advertisements for Blockbuster franchises owned by Donovan Entertainment (Donovan) (defendant). Donovan told Rohr where and when to display the advertisements, and Rohr handled all other aspects of the job. Rohr did not live nearby and was staying at a motel. Rohr had finished his job for Donovan and was on his way back to the motel when he caused the car accident. The estate of Maria Buitrago and the other car-accident victims (the car-accident victims) (plaintiffs) sued Rohr and Donovan. The court granted Donovan’s motion for summary judgment, holding that because Rohr was an independent contractor and not an employee of Donovan’s, Donovan could not be held liable for Rohr’s negligence under an agency theory. The car-accident victims appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Klein, J.)
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