Missouri Court Holds Crop Dusting Not Inherently Dangerous Activity

A case out of Missouri, Keller Farms, Inc. v. Stewart,  recently caught my attention as it addressed an interesting question, is crop dusting an “inherently dangerous activity?”  This is an important question as the answer can greatly impact the potential liability of a landowner or producer hiring someone to apply pesticides. The reason is that a person is generally not liable for the acts of his or her independent contractor.  An exception to that, however, is that a person may be liable for the acts of his or her independent contractor if the activity involved is deemed “inherently dangerous.”  So, assume a  sorghum farmer hired an aerial spray company, as an independent contractor, to spray for sugarcane aphids and drift occurred.  If the activity is not inherently dangerous, the farmer is not liable.  If the activity is inherently dangerous, the farmer can be liable for the pilot’s actions.