Independent Contractor – Negligence | Wisconsin Law Journal

By: Derek Hawkins//March 17, 2020//

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Marina D. Kolchinsky, et al. v. Western Dairy Transport, LLC, et al.

Case No.: 19-1739

Officials: RIPPLE, SYKES, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Independent Contractor – Negligence

After Marina Kolchinsky and her mother, Lidia Kolchinsky, were severely injured in a car collision with a tractor-trailer in Illinois, they sued the truck driver and the two companies that contracted with him. They filed in federal court based on diversity of citizenship; Illinois law controlled. The district court entered partial summary judgment in favor of Western Dairy Transport, LLC, and WD Logistics, LLC, concluding that the driver was an independent contractor so the Kolchinskys could not hold the companies responsible for the driver’s alleged negligence. Because the district court properly classified the driver as an independent contractor, we affirm the summary judgment for the companies.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.