Pool Company owes no duty to warn homeowner of open and obvious danger
Stacey Gailey hired Mermaid Pools to build a swimming pool in her back yard. During construction Mermaid employees would leave the lid or cover to the skimmer uncovered, as they generally did not install a cover or lid until construction of a pool was complete. A few days before completion the Mermaid employees told Gailey she could look at the pool to view the progress. Gailey went to look at the construction of the pool at about 10:00 p.m. and she was injured when she stepped into the uncovered skimmer. She then filed suit (a premises defect case not a negligent activity case) and Mermaid responded that it did not have any duty to warn a homeowner of an open and obvious danger. On June 23, 2010 the El Paso Court of Appeals in Gailey v. Mermaid Pools of El Paso, agreed and held that it knew of no legal authority to impose a duty on an independent contractor under these circumstances.