Coastal Marine Service of Texas, Inc. v. Lawrence

On Petition FOR Review FROM the Court of Appeals for the Ninth District of Texas

The issue in this case is whether an independent contractor’s willingness to follow a premises owner’s instructions, though no such instructions were given, is legally sufficient evidence of the premises owner’s “right to control” in a premises liability case. The court of appeals held that it was. 1 We hold that it was not.

On September 20, 1994, John Ray Lawrence, an employee of H.W. Campbell Construction Company, was killed when his head was crushed in the “pinch point” area of a crane. Coastal Marine Services…