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Harris v. Rio Hotel & Casino6/21/2001
The Nevada Industrial Insurance Act ("NIIA" or "the Act") provides exclusive remedies for Nevada workers injured by accidents arising out of and in the course of employment. The Act generally immunizes employers, who must procure workers' compensation coverage for their employees, from common law liability for workplace injuries. Principal contractors are deemed to be employers of their subcontractors, independent contractors and employees of either. The statutory definition of a "principal contractor" as a person who coordinates all work on a project, contracts to complete a project, contracts for the services of subcontractors and independent contractors, or is responsible for paying subcontractors and independent contractors, encompasses the commonly used term "general contractor."
We are asked in this appeal to decide whether a landowner that constructs improvements to real property through a licensed general contractor enjoys the same immunity under the NIIA as the contractor. Cognizant of the considerable confusion that has developed over the years in our jurisprudence on the subject, we conclude that the property owner stands in the shoes of the general contractor and is immune from liability.
Appellant, Billy R. Harris, was severely injured during construction of an addition to the Rio Hotel and Casino ("the Rio") in Las Vegas, Nevada. Harris claimed and recovered Nevada workers' compensation benefits from his direct employer, Marnell Corrao Construction Company, the project's licensed general contractor. He then filed a common law action against the Rio on the theory that the Rio's scheduling demands created an atmosphere of recklessness on the job site.
The Rio moved to dismiss the action, claiming immunity under the NIIA. The district court treated the motion as one for summary judgment under NRCP 56. It concluded, as a matter of law, that landowners as well as general contractors are immunized under the NIIA from common law actions brought by employees of the general contractor and sub-contractors, when the injuries sustained arise in the course of performance of a general construction contract. The district court based its ruling upon our 1976 decision in Frith v. Harrah South Shore Corp. Accordingly, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the Rio. Harris appeals.
DISCUSSION
Issues concerning NIIA immunity of owners to persons involved in the construction of improvements to real property have surfaced from time to time in our jurisprudence since 1957. Our cases, as well as legislative amendments to the NIIA, have generated much confusion as to the precise nature of the immunity enjoyed by landowners in construction as well as non-construction settings. Cases that illustrate the long-standing debate over this issue include Oliver v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Sims v. General Telephone & Electric, Karadanis v. Sourwine, Meers v. Haughton Elevator, Leslie v. J. A. Tiberti Construction, Antonini v. Hanna Industries, Frith, Weaver v. Shell Oil Co., Titanium Metals v. District Court, Simon Service v. Mitchell, and most recently, Tucker v. Action Equipment and Scaffold Co. In Tucker, we resolved in large part the standards for immunity in non-construction matters, and partially resolved the standards applicable in construction cases. In our resolution of this appeal, we now undertake to clarify our prior cases on this subject and provide a definitive statement of the rule of workplace immunity under the NIIA in cases arising from the performance of construction contracts.
Harris argues on appeal that the district court erroneously relied upon Frith in its conclusion that his suit is barred as a matter of
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