2003). A principal retains operational control if it has “direct supervision over the step-by-step process of accomplishing the work such that the contractor is not entirely free to do the work in his own way.” Id. Whether a principal retains operational control turns on the principal’s control over the independent contractor and its employees, not on the principal’s control over its own premises. Collins v. Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc., 182 So. 3d 324, 331 (La. Ct. App. 2015).
Echeverry relies on a case from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal of Louisiana. There the “company man” performed actual safety checks on the worksite. Denson v. Diamond Offshore Co., 955 So. 2d 730, 733–34 (La. Ct. App. 2007). That court distinguished its facts from those of cases where the company representatives occasionally visited worksites but did not perform safety checks themselves. Id. at 734. As the Casino states, the contract at issue in Denson explicitly vested several aspects of operational control in the principal. Id. at 733. The independent contractor had to “comply with all instructions,” including safety instructions, of the principal and was “under the direction and supervision” of the principal. Id. Because of the contract language and the fact that the company representative performed safety checks at the jobsite, there was a genuine issue of material fact as to who had operational control. Id. at 734. The court reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment. Id. at 733, 735.
Conversely, this court affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment on the claim of operational-control negligence when the principal did not have direct supervision over the step-by-step processes of the independent contractor’s work. Fruge, 337 F.3d at 564, 566. In Fruge, the contract between Anadarko and its independent contractor, Parker Drilling, made Parker responsible for the “operation and control of the Drilling Unit.” Id. at 564. “Anadarko provided on-site supervision 24-hours per day, via various independent contractors whose employees reported to Anadarko.”
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