The Common Enterprise Defense is Alive and Well, But Still Not Without Limits

OLWK Attorneys Brian McSherry and Lance Meyer recently co-authored an article regarding the Minnesota Supreme Court's decision in Kelly v. Kraemer Constr., Inc., in which the court broadly applied the common-enterprise defense after a twenty-year hiatus.  As discussed in a previous post, the Kelly Court held that a general contractor hired to repair two bridges and the subcontractor it hired to assist with the project were engaged in a common enterprise for purposes of the election-of-remedies provision of the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Act (“MWCA”)—Minn. Stat. § 176.061—such that the family of an employee of the general contractor killed during the project was precluded from bringing a negligence action against the subcontractor.  Read the article here.