Kronberg v. Oasis Petroleum, No. 15-1617 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseAfter Joseph Kronberg was electrocuted and died while working at an oil well as an employee of Nabors, Mr. Kronberg's widow filed wrongful death and survival actions against Oasis Petroleum and others. The district court granted summary judgment for Oasis and RPM Consulting. The court concluded that there is no genuine issue of material fact as to RPM Consulting’s lack of control over an independent contractor's, Michael Bader, safety practices; RPM Consulting owed no duty to Mr. Kronberg under the doctrine of retained control; and thus neither company may be held vicariously liable for Bader’s alleged negligence as a company hand. The court also concluded that Oasis did now owe Mr. Kronberg a duty of care under North Dakota premises liability law where the record does not support a finding that Oasis controlled the property and had an opportunity to observe dangerous conditions at the well. Finally, the court concluded that Oasis did not have a duty to provide an automated external defibrillator at the well where the court could not predict that the North Dakota Supreme Court would adopt the proposed common law duty. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Colloton, Author, with Smith, Circuit Judge, and Gritzner, District Judge] Civil Case - diversity. Adverse summary judgment is affirmed in wrongful death action against Oasis Petroleum and RPM Consulting by widow of employee of Nabors Drilling, a contractor, who was electrocuted on drilling site. Bader, the company hand, was an independent contractor as a matter of law and Oasis and RPM Consulting could not be vicariously liable for any alleged negligence by Bader. Evidence does not support a finding that Oasis retained control to support liability under doctrine of retained control and subcontractor agreement with RPM unambiguously gave Bader right to control method and manner of work. Oasis owed no duty of care under North Dakota premises liability law. North Dakota does not require a company to provide a defibrillator at the well and court will not predict that North Dakota would impose a common law duty.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.