“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. It includes judges nominated in both his first and second terms.
What’s at stake in this case?
The mother of a worker killed on the job sued a corporation for damages.
What happened in this case?
Cody Hatt was working for a demolition contractor tearing down a power plant in Pennsylvania, and tragically suffered serious injuries from a fall that caused his death. His mother Lisa DeBar filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the owner and operator of the plant for negligence. A district court dismissed the case and it went to the Third Circuit.
In October, Trump judge Stephanos Bibas cast the deciding vote affirming the decision below and throwing out DeBar’s claim in DeBar v First Energy Corp.. Obama judge Felipe Resrepo dissented.
The majority. In an opinion by George W Bush judge Michael Fisher, ruled that the corporation owning the plant was not liable because the work was performed by an independent contractor that employed Hatt, and because the dangers that resulted in the accident that killed Hatt were “open and obvious” to him.
Why did Judge Restrepo dissent?
Based on a careful review of the record and applicable case law, Judge Restrepo thought the majority opinion was clearly wrong because it “prohibitively raises the bar for wrongful death claims by employees of independent contractors” like Hatt. Under past precedent, he explained, an employee can prevail if it is found by a jury that the owner retained “sufficient control” of the contractor, and this case was at a stage much too early for that determination. Similarly, whether the dangers that resulted in the fatal accident were “open and obvious” was a factual question for a jury to resolve, not to be decided by a court on a motion to dismiss. Lisa DeBar had pleaded “more than enough to satisfy the minimal showing required at the motion to dismiss stage,” Restrepo concluded, and her “well-pleaded complaint” should have been allowed to proceed.
Why is this decision harmful?
The decision made possible by Trump judge Bibas obviously harms Lisa DeBar and her effort to get damages and justice for the death of her son. It also sets troubling precedent on the issue of the liability of independent contractors for injuries to workers, especially in the Third Circuit, which includes Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The decision also illustrates the importance of our federal courts to health, welfare and justice and the significance of having fair-minded judges on the federal bench.