Full access allows:
- Solve all tests online without limits;
- Remove all advertisements on website;
- Adding questions to favorite list;
- Save learning progress;
- Save results of practice exams;
- Watching all wrong answered questions.
- Homepage »
- Torts »
- Negligence
71. In an action by the guest against the hotel to recover for his injuries, what would be the most likely outcome?
A hotel employed a carefully selected independent contractor to rebuild its swimming pool. The hotel continued to operate while the pool was being rebuilt. The contract between the hotel and the contractor required the contractor to indemnify the hotel for any liability arising from the contractor's negligent acts. A guest of the hotel fell into the excavation, which the contractor had negligently left unguarded.
Comments (0)
There are no comments at the moment. If you found an error or think question is incorrect, tell everyone about it
Only signed in users can write comments
Signin
B is incorrect. While it is true that the hotel would most likely be liable, the contract between the hotel and the contractor is irrelevant to the hotel's potential liability to the guest. Should the guest successfully sue the hotel, the contract would allow the hotel to bring an action for indemnification against the contractor, but the contract does not affect the hotel's liability to its guests. The hotel's liability, as stated above, would arise from its nondelegable duty to the guest to keep a safe premises.
C is incorrect. Because the hotel had a nondelegable duty to keep the premises safe for business visitors, the court will hold the hotel liable for the contractor's negligence, whether that negligence was active or passive. Distinctions based on active, as opposed to passive, negligence are outmoded, and, even if they applied, they address the apportionment of damages between defendants, not the responsibility of a defendant to a plaintiff.
D is incorrect. If the hotel had not exercised reasonable care in selecting a contractor, that would be an alternative basis for imposing liability on the hotel. However, even when a hotel has carefully selected an independent contractor, it still has a nondelegable duty to keep the premises safe for business visitors such as hotel guests and will be held vicariously liable for the contractor's negligence.