Rohlfs v. Weil

The cause of the plaintiff’s injury was the negligent use of a scaffold in painting a signboard upon a building controlled by the defendant Gotham Silk Hosiery Co., Inc. That company had leased the signboard to Strauss & Co., Inc. Strauss & Co. in turn contracted with the defendant Weil for the painting of the sign. His employee was negligent in the fastening of the scaffold. For such negligence neither of the other defendants is liable. They may be held only for some breach of duty of their own.

To paint the sign, a scaffold, suspended over the street, was necessary. The temporary suspension…