What is the nondelegable duty in California?

The nondelegable duty is a legal doctrine that says certain types of duties cannot be delegated to avoid liability. These types of duties are usually tied to safety or public policy.

Generally, everyone is responsible for their own acts. See Civil Code § 1714. Everyone has a duty to use due care. That general duty of care can be limited or expanded through the Rowland factors, but we’ll skip over Rowland for now.

Duty is the legal obligation to act with reasonable care. Liability arises when a breach of that duty causes harm. In this context, duty and liability are tightly connected.

A nondelegable duty is a duty that can be delegated for performance, but not for legal responsibility. For example, a landlord has a nondelegable duty to maintain safe stairs. If the landlord hires a contractor to fix the stairs, and the contractor performs the work negligently, the landlord may still be liable when someone is injured. Even though the landlord didn’t do the work, he may be liable under the nondelegable duty doctrine.

Under the nondelegable duty doctrine, a defendant cannot avoid responsibility by hiring someone else.

Common examples of the nondelegable duty in California include 1) premises liability (defendants in control of premises have a nondelegable duty to keep the premises safe); and 2) employers (employers have a nondelegable duty to provide a safe workplace).

Nondelegable duties arise from statutes, contracts, and case law.

How to prove nondelegable duty

You prove nondelegable duty by showing the following:

• Defendant hired [independent contractor] to [perform job involving nondelegable duty]
• [Independent contractor] was negligent
• Plaintiff was harmed
• [Independent contractor]’s conduct was a substantial factor in causing that harm

See CACI 3713.