WORTHINGTON COMMUNITIES, INC. v. Mejia

I concur in this opinion with the greatest of reluctance. Worthington’s primary mistake was its failure to create two corporations — one to own the development and one to serve as the general contractor. If it had taken this simple legal step, it would not have been liable in this case.

The duty owing to an employee on a construction site by an “owner/general contractor” has been a confusing subject ever since the Third District issued its opinion in Lewis v. Sims Crane Service, Inc., 498 So.2d 573 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986). That opinion unfortunately intermingled a discussion of liability for the…