Doto v. Astoria Energy II, LLC

• Decision Date: 03 June 2015
• Docket Number: 2013-09187
• Citation: 2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 04605,129 A.D.3d 660,11 N.Y.S.3d 201
• Parties: Victor DOTO, appellant, v. ASTORIA ENERGY II, LLC, et al., defendants third-party plaintiffs-respondents; Newtron Heat Trace, LLC, third-party defendant-respondent.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

129 A.D.3d 660

11 N.Y.S.3d 201

2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 04605

Victor DOTO, appellant

v. ASTORIA ENERGY II, LLC, et al., defendants third-party plaintiffs-respondents;Newtron Heat Trace, LLC, third-party defendant-respondent.

2013-09187

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.

June 3, 2015.

Gropper Law Group, PLLC, New York, N.Y. (Joshua Gropper and David de Andrade of counsel), for appellant.

Martyn, Toher, Martyn & Rossi, Mineola, N.Y. (Frank P. Toher of counsel), for defendants third-party plaintiffs-respondents.

Marks, O'Neill, O'Brien, Doherty & Kelly, P.C., Elmsford, N.Y. (Danielle H. Garten–Koch of counsel), for third-party defendant-respondent.

WILLIAM F. MASTRO, J.P., SANDRA L. SGROI, JEFFREY A. COHEN, and COLLEEN D. DUFFY, JJ.

Opinion

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Taylor, J.), dated July 8, 2013, as denied his motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240(1), and granted that branch of the defendants' cross motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

ORDERED that the order is modified, on the law, (1) by deleting the provision thereof denying the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240(1), and substituting therefor a provision granting that motion, and (2) by deleting the provision thereof granting those branches of the defendants' cross motion which were for summary judgment dismissing the causes of action alleging common-law negligence, violations of Labor Law §§ 200 and 240(1), and so much of the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 241(6) as was predicated on an alleged violation of 12 NYCRR 23–1.7(f), and substituting therefor a provision denying those branches of the cross motion; as so modified, the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with one bill of costs to the plaintiff payable by the respondents appearing separately and filing separate briefs.

The plaintiff allegedly sustained injuries when he fell while climbing over a railing of a permanent platform at a power plant, which was under construction and owned by the defendant Astoria Energy II, LLC (hereinafter Astoria). The plaintiff's employer, the third-party defendant, Newtron Heat Trace, LLC (hereinafter Newtron), had been hired to install electric heat tracing for the construction project. The plaintiff commenced this action against Astoria, as well as the general contractor, the defendant SNC–Lavalin Constructors, Inc. (hereinafter SNC), and a scaffolding company hired by Astoria, the defendant Peterson Industrial Scaffolding, Inc. (hereinafter Peterson), alleging common-law negligence and violations of Labor Law §§ 200, 240(1), and 241(6). Subsequently, the plaintiff moved for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240(1), and the defendants cross-moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

According to the plaintiff's deposition testimony and affidavit, he had been assigned to work on the permanent platform, which was three or four stories above the ground, but had not received any instructions on how to access the platform. The plaintiff stated that the only route he was aware of required him to climb up a scaffolding ladder near the platform, step onto a scaffolding gate that provided access to a narrow board next to the platform but not to the platform itself, and then climb from the gate onto and over the three-and-a-half-foot railing of the permanent platform.

The ladder, the gate, and the board were part of a temporary scaffolding erected by Peterson for the construction project. SNC's site safety manager testified at his deposition that the scaffolding on the large construction site was “like a maze.” While there “were several options available” to access the plaintiff's work area, the plaintiff “went the most direct route.” The safety manager also testified that many construction workers climbed the scaffolding instead of using ladders, that the workers on the site could climb over railings to access platforms as long as they were secured with a harness and lanyards, and that the gate in the area of the plaintiff's accident should have been modified to provide access to the platform. Although the plaintiff wore a harness with two six-foot lanyards at the time of the accident, the lanyards did not prevent his fall from the railing onto the platform.

Labor Law § 240(1) imposes absolute liability on owners, contractors, and their agents when their “failure to provide proper protection to workers employed on a construction site proximately causes injury to a worker” (Wilinski v. 334 E. 92nd Hous. Dev. Fund Corp., 18 N.Y.3d 1, 7, 935 N.Y.S.2d 551, 959 N.E.2d 488 [internal quotation marks omitted]; see Labor Law § 240[1] ; Nicometi v. Vineyards of Fredonia, LLC, 25 N.Y.3d 90, 96, 7 N.Y.S.3d 263, 30 N.E.3d 154 ). However, liability may “be imposed under the statute only where the ‘plaintiff's injuries were the direct consequence of a failure to provide adequate protection against a risk arising from a physically significant elevation differential’ ” (Nicometi v. Vineyards of Fredonia, LLC, 25 N.Y.3d at 97, 7 N.Y.S.3d 263, 30 N.E.3d 154, quoting Runner v. New York Stock Exch., Inc., 13 N.Y.3d 599, 603, 895 N.Y.S.2d 279, 922 N.E.2d 865 ; see Wicks v. Leemilt's Petroleum, Inc., 103 A.D.3d 793, 794–795, 962 N.Y.S.2d 168 ; Jimenez v. RC Church of Epiphany, 85 A.D.3d 974, 975, 926 N.Y.S.2d 133 ).

Contrary to the contention of the defendants and Newtron, Labor Law § 240(1) applies to the facts of this case, even though the plaintiff fell only from the railing to the platform (see Abreo v. URS Greiner Woodward Clyde, 60 A.D.3d 878, 875 N.Y.S.2d 577 ; Mann v. Meridian Ctr. Assoc., LLC, 17 A.D.3d 1143, 1144–1145, 794 N.Y.S.2d 272 ; see also Gatto v. Clifton Park Senior Living, LLC, 90 A.D.3d 1387, 1387, 935 N.Y.S.2d 366 ; De Jara v. 44–14 Newtown Rd. Apt. Corp., 307 A.D.2d 948, 950, 763 N.Y.S.2d 654 ). The plaintiff established his prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability on his cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240(1) by submitting evidence demonstrating that the defendants failed to provide him with an adequate safety device, and that such failure was a proximate cause of his injuries (see Olea v. Overlook Towers Corp., 106 A.D.3d 431, 431–432, 965 N.Y.S.2d 39 ; Wicks v. Leemilt's Petroleum, Inc., 103 A.D.3d at 795, 962 N.Y.S.2d 168 ; Susko v. 337 Greenwich LLC, 103 A.D.3d 434, 435, 961 N.Y.S.2d 35 ; Bin Gu v. Palm Beach Tan, Inc., 81 A.D.3d 867, 868, 917 N.Y.S.2d 661 ).

In opposition, the defendants failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the plaintiff's actions in using the scaffolding and climbing over the railing, rather than using a permanent ladder that was approximately 25 to 30 feet from the scaffolding ladder, to access the permanent platform was the sole proximate cause of his injuries. A plaintiff's negligence is the sole proximate cause of his or her injuries “when the safety devices that plaintiff alleges were absent were readily available at the work site, albeit not in the immediate vicinity of the accident, and plaintiff knew he [or she] was expected to use them but for no good reason chose not to do so, causing an accident” (Gallagher v. New York Post, 14 N.Y.3d 83, 88, 896 N.Y.S.2d 732, 923 N.E.2d 1120 ; see Przyborowski v. A & M Cook, LLC, 120 A.D.3d 651, 653–654, 992 N.Y.S.2d 56 ). Here, there is no evidence that anyone instructed the plaintiff that he was “expected to” use the permanent ladder rather than the scaffolding (Gallagher v. New York Post, 14 N.Y.3d at 88, 896 N.Y.S.2d 732, 923 N.E.2d 1120 ; see Przyborowski v. A & M Cook, LLC, 120 A.D.3d at 654, 992 N.Y.S.2d 56 ; Nacewicz v. Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Cross, 105 A.D.3d 402, 403–404, 963 N.Y.S.2d 14 ; Kin v. State of New York, 101 A.D.3d 1606, 1608, 956 N.Y.S.2d 731 ).

Accordingly, the Supreme Court should have granted the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240(1), and denied that branch of the defendants' cross motion which was for summary judgment dismissing that cause of action.

The Supreme Court also should have denied that branch of the defendants' cross motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the causes of action alleging common-law negligence and a violation of Labor Law § 200. Labor Law § 200 is a codification of the common-law duty of owners, contractors, and their agents to provide workers with a safe place to work (see Rizzuto v. L.A. Wenger Contr. Co., 91 N.Y.2d 343, 352, 670 N.Y.S.2d 816, 693 N.E.2d 1068 ; Annicaro v. Corporate Suites, Inc., 98 A.D.3d 542, 544, 949 N.Y.S.2d 717 ; Guclu v. 900 Eighth Ave. Condominium, LLC, 81 A.D.3d 592, 593, 916 N.Y.S.2d 147 ). Where, as here, a plaintiff contends that an accident occurred because a dangerous condition existed on the premises where the work was being undertaken, an owner moving for summary judgment dismissing causes of action alleging common-law negligence and a violation of Labor Law § 200 must make “a prima facie showing that it neither created the dangerous condition nor had actual or constructive notice of [it]” (Costa v. Sterling Equip., Inc., 123 A.D.3d 649, 650, 997 N.Y.S.2d 704 ; see Navarro v. City of New York, 75 A.D.3d 590, 592, 905 N.Y.S.2d 258 ; Chowdhury v. Rodriguez, 57 A.D.3d 121, 128, 131–132, 867 N.Y.S.2d 123 ; cf. Ortega v. Puccia, 57 A.D.3d 54, 61–63, 866 N.Y.S.2d 323 ). A contractor may be liable in common-law negligence and under Labor Law § 200 in cases involving an allegedly dangerous premises condition “only if it had control over the work site and either created the dangerous condition or...