City of New York v. Welsbach Electric Corp.

• Decision Date: 01 June 2006
• Docket Number: 8031.
• Citation: 30 A.D.3d 157,2006 NY Slip Op 04314,817 N.Y.S.2d 11
• Parties: CITY OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. WELSBACH ELECTRIC CORP., Appellant, et al., Defendant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

30 A.D.3d 157

817 N.Y.S.2d 11

2006 NY Slip Op 04314

CITY OF NEW YORK, Respondent, v. WELSBACH ELECTRIC CORP., Appellant, et al., Defendant.

8031.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, First Department.

June 1, 2006.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Diane A. Lebedeff, J.), entered March 8, 2005, which denied defendant Welsbach Electric's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, defendant's motion granted and the complaint dismissed as against defendant Welsbach Electric. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment accordingly.

This action for contractual and common-law indemnification, as well as contribution, arises from a 1993 two-car collision at a Queens intersection. Welsbach contracted in 1991 with the City of New York to maintain certain traffic lights in Queens County. Following the collision, a lawsuit between the two drivers was commenced in 1994, which included Welsbach and the City as defendants, alleging malfunction of the traffic control signal. Welsbach moved for summary judgment in 1997 on two grounds, viz: that it owed no duty to the public in the performance of its maintenance contract with the City, and that it timely and completely performed its contractual obligations to the City. The motion, which was supported by a detailed and unrebutted affidavit of a traffic signal maintenance mechanic employed by Welsbach, was granted on both grounds, a final judgment of dismissal was entered and the City did not appeal. In 2000, the remaining claims were tried and the City was found negligent and responsible for substantial personal injuries sustained by individuals involved in the accident. The jury specifically found that each motorist had a green traffic signal and that neither was negligent. Subsequently the City appealed, named Welsbach a respondent, and sought review of the 1997 grant of summary judgment to Welsbach. In response to a motion by Welsbach, the City executed a stipulation withdrawing its attempted and belated appeal of the 1997 Welsbach judgment of dismissal. The instant action was thereafter commenced in 2003.

The record demonstrates that Welsbach's 1997 summary judgment motion specifically addressed any claims arising from the 1993 collision for which the City now seeks indemnity or contribution, that the City did not attempt to rebut any factual allegations made by Welsbach, and that the IAS court found that Welsbach had no...