Rincon v. ABC Cutting Contractors, Inc

In Rincon v. ABC Cutting Contractors, Inc., 706 So. 2d 322 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), a subcontractor cut holes in a concrete canopy and left them unguarded; when an employee of a painting subcontractor fell through one of the holes, the cutting contractor was held to owe a duty of care. The Rincon court reasoned that the subcontractor had control of the premises where it was working while it was working there and "that the subcontractor breached a duty of reasonable care to third parties when it left the job without taking steps to ensure that a dangerous situation did not result." Rincon, 706 So. 2d at 324 (Pariente, J., concurring). Thus, "it should be for a jury to decide whether it was reasonable for the subcontractor to leave the job without barricading the holes and without warning of the dangerous condition . . ." Id.