Ellis v. Time Warner Cable, Inc., 2013 Ohio 240

Troy Ellis, owner of Universal Roofing, was injured when he fell from a roof during repair work on January 23, 2008.
Ellis, his son Travis, and Dustin Anderson were on the roof; Ellis fell after unrolling roofing material and allegedly tripping over a cable.
Ellis alleged that Directv installed a coaxial cable for a satellite dish in 2003 and that cabling remained after service terminated, while Time Warner Cable installed service in 2005 and did not remove cable.
Ellis asserted that Directv and TWC left behind cabling and that the cabling caused the fall; Cascom was originally named but later dismissed.
The trial court granted summary judgment to TWC and Directv; the Ellises appealed claiming a duty of care existed.
The court held that, because the work on the roof is inherently dangerous and there was no active participation by TWC or Directv, no duty existed under negligence law.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Do TWC/Directv owe a duty to Ellis for injuries during inherently dangerous work?	Ellis argues duty exists despite independent contractor status.	TWC/Directv contend no duty absent active participation in the second contractor's work.	No duty as a matter of law; inherently dangerous work with no active participation eliminates duty.

Kucharski v. Natl. Eng. Contracting Co., 69 Ohio St.3d 430 (1994) (independent contractor duty limited when no active supervision)
Wellman v. E. Ohio Gas Co., 113 N.E.2d 629 (1953) (inherently dangerous work may negate duty to the worker)
Pinkerton v. J&H Reinforcing and Structural Erectors, Inc., 2012-Ohio-1606 (4th Dist.) (construction site inherently dangerous; active participation required for duty)
Solanki v. Doug Freshwater Contracting, Inc., 2007-Ohio-6703 (7th Dist.) (extending inherently dangerous work principle)
Shuman v. Detroit Diesel, 2000 Ohio App. LEXIS 5837 (5th Dist.) (roof work risks confirmed as inherently dangerous)