Jaime Ibarra and Maria Ibarra Torres v. the Hines Land Group, LTD., A.W. Hines, Kelly King Hines, Ricky D. Hines, Individually and D/B/A Hines Development Corporation, Hines Development, LTD., and Hines Development Management, LLC
Jaime Ibarra, an employee of Moss Concrete Construction Co., Inc., was injured when a dirt wall collapsed while he was repairing a leak in a man-made lake at the Pecan Valley Ranch subdivision, developed by The Hines Land Group. Ibarra and Maria Ibarra Torres sued the Hines Appellees, alleging various causes of action including negligence, premises liability, negligent hiring, and negligent undertaking. The trial court granted the Hines Appellees' motions for summary judgment. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's judgment, finding that the Hines Appellees owed no duty to Ibarra as they did not retain or exercise control over the excavation work, the trench was an open and obvious defect created by the independent contractors, and negligent hiring claims do not apply to independent contractors' employees.