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Privette doctrine

The following summaries are of recent published decisions of the California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. The summaries are presented without regard to whether Severson & Werson represented a party in the case.

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Acosta v. MAS Realty, LLC (2023) 2023 WL 6889820

This opinion reverses an electrician's $12.6 million judgment for injuries he sustained due to a defective roof access hatch which was defective and slammed shut on his back herniating several discs.  The Privette doctrine barred the plaintiff's recovery.  He was a worker employed by a licensed contractor whom the property owner had hired.  The defects in the roof hatch were… Read More