Section 16.18 Inherently Dangerous Activity and Collateral Negligence

• Library: Tort Law 2016

B. (§16.18) Inherently Dangerous Activity and Collateral Negligence

Inherently dangerous activity and collateral negligence are often confused with strict liability for abnormally dangerous or ultrahazardous activity. Liability for inherently dangerous activities is based on Restatement (Second) of Torts § 427 (1965). The Supreme Court of Missouri recognized this theory in Smith v. Inter-County Telephone Co., 559 S.W.2d 518 (Mo. banc 1977). This theory holds a possessor of property directly or vicariously liable for an independent contractor’s negligence. Zueck v. Oppenheimer Gateway Properties, Inc., 809 S.W.2d 384 (Mo. banc 1991), substantially restricted the application of this theory and held that a landowner is not vicariously liable to employees of an independent contractor covered by workers’ compensation. The theory was further eroded in Matteuzzi v. Columbus Partnership, L.P., 866 S.W.2d 128 (Mo. banc 1993), in which the Court held that a landowner was not directly (to be distinguished from vicariously) liable to an...