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P, a 19-year-old construction worker, was severely injured on his job site when a heavy truck drove squarely over his pelvis. P has sued to recover his damages, including the $35,000 in medical fees he had expended as of the time the complaint was filed. The owner and general contractor of the project on which P was working at the time of the accident was Developer. P was employed by Wood-Pine Corp., a small company hired by Developer to pave the shopping center. Developer knew, or should have known, that Wood-Pine would hire subcontractors, since Wood-Pine itself had no trucks. Wood-Pine hired Windsor Contracting Corp., whose employee, Willard Edwards, drove the truck that injured P. There was evidence to indicate that Developer at least on some occasions in the past, had required insurance coverage from its subcontractors. There is evidence that the standard liability insurance coverage in the construction industry allows for recoveries of up to $250,000 per accident. In contrast, Windsor's automobile liability insurance coverage was only $10,000, and Windsor is only minimally capitalized. P sued Windsor and its employee for negligence, also asserting claims against Developer. P contends that he will be unable to recover his damages from Windsor because of Windsor's limited insurance coverage and marginal capitalization, and that Developer breached its duty in allowing such a financially irresponsible contractor to be hired. The district court granted summary judgment for Developer, holding that under New Jersey Law developer could not be held liable for the tort of an independent subcontractor regardless of the financial status of such subcontractor. P appealed.

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