Renn v. Airline of Finland
| Decision Date | 10 January 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 87 Civ. 6241 (JMW).,87 Civ. 6241 (JMW). |
| Citation | 702 F. Supp. 1077 |
| Parties | Robert RENN and Mary Renn, Plaintiffs, v. AIRLINE OF FINLAND d/b/a Finnair, Defendant. FINNAIR OY, Third Party Plaintiff, v. UNITED AIRLINES, INC., Third Party Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Carl Lustig, III, Arye, Kors & Lustig, P.C., New York City, for plaintiffs.
Carole Burns, Newman Schlau Fitch & Burns, P.C., New York City, for defendant.
Edward C. DeVivo, Windels, Marx, Davies & Ives, New York City, for third-party defendant.
Plaintiffs Robert and Mary Renn originally filed suit against defendant Airline of Finland ("Finnair") seeking $2.25 million in damages, plus costs and interest, for injuries allegedly sustained by Robert Renn as a result of falling from a ladder during the course of his employment. Plaintiffs contend that Renn's injuries were caused by defendant. Defendant then filed a cross claim against third party defendant United Airlines, Inc. ("United") to recover whatever might be paid in a judgment favorable to plaintiffs. United removed the action from state court to this Court. Jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332; defendant is a foreign corporation licensed and authorized to do business in New York. Currently before this Court are plaintiff's and defendant's cross motions for summary judgment pursuant to Fed.Rule Civ.P. 56. After reviewing the papers before it and the relevant law, the Court grants defendant's motion for summary judgment.
Each side has moved for summary judgment. The Federal Rules authorize summary judgment where "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact ..." Fed.R. Civ.P. 56(c). A genuine dispute exists if "a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Although the burden is on the moving party to show that no relevant facts are in dispute, the nonmoving party may not rely simply "on mere speculation or conjecture as to the true nature of the facts to overcome a motion for summary judgment." Knight v. U.S. Fire Insurance Co., 804 F.2d 9, 12 (2d Cir.1986), cert. denied, 480 U.S. 932, 107 S.Ct. 1570, 94 L.Ed.2d 762 (1987). Further, if the evidence supporting the non-moving party's claims is meager, the moving party may simply point "out to the district court that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Thus, this Court must "assess whether there are any factual issues to be tried, while resolving ambiguities and drawing reasonable inferences against the moving party." Knight, 804 F.2d at 11.
Because the Court will grant defendant's motion, it accepts as true plaintiffs' description of the events at issue. However, the essential facts are not in dispute. Finnair leases office space from United at the United Airlines Terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport ("JFK"). Plaintiff Robert Renn is employed by United as a Building Maintenance Electrician. United provides maintenance services to its tenants, including Finnair. The lease agreement between Finnair and United contains the following clause:
Lessee Finnair shall make no changes, alterations, additions or improvements, or do any work in connection therewith in, on or about the premises without the prior written consent of the lessor.
Lease ¶ 3. The contract between Finnair and United also states that the lessor is responsible for making all structural repairs to the premises and performing all maintenance work. ¶ 7; See Exhibit L to Def. Motion for Summary Judgment.
Sometime on or before January 10, 1986, United instructed Renn to perform certain electrical work that had been requested by Finnair in connection with the installation of a new computer. On the morning of January 10, Renn arrived at the Finnair office before it was open for business. He removed a ladder from Finnair's office. While on a stairwell landing, which shares a common wall with Finnair's office, plaintiff fell from that ladder and sustained certain injuries. The stairwell landing, where plaintiff fell, is in a common area not leased by Finnair. United completed an accident report, dated January 10, 1988. For the purposes of defendant's motion, the Court further assumes that Renn had defendant's implied permission to use its ladder, and that the ladder was defective. See Aff. of Carl Lustig, III at ¶ 11.
Reading the papers submitted to the Court by the parties, it becomes clear that this dispute is not over the essential facts but rather over how the relevant legal authorities should be interpreted. See, e.g., Lustig Aff. at ¶ 10 () Plaintiffs seek to impose liability on defendant pursuant to Section 240(1) of the Labor Law of New York ("§ 240(1)").1 The parties agree that § 240(1) controls their motions for summary judgment. See, e.g., Lustig Aff. at ¶ 10. The Court now turns to that provision.
As a federal court sitting in diversity, this Court must, of course, construe the New York Labor Law in a manner consistent with New York State court interpretations of the statute. Section 240(1) states:
All contractors and owners and their agents, except owners of one and two-family dwellings, who contract for but do not direct or control the work, in the erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting, clearing or painting of a building or structure shall furnish or erect, or cause to be furnished or erected for the performance of such labor, scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, hangars, blocks, pulleys, braces, irons, ropes, and other devices which shall be so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper protection to a person so employed.
In an attempt to insure a safe workplace, this section has consistently been interpreted liberally by New York courts, and imposes absolute liability. See, e.g., Pereira v. A.D. Herman Construction Co., 74 A.D.2d 531, 425 N.Y.S.2d 308 (1st Dep't 1980). Defendant argues that, as a lessee, it does not fall within the reach of the section, which applies only to "all contractors and owners and their agents." Plaintiffs argue that the broad language of the section, together with the remedial purpose of the statute, supports their motion for summary judgment. The Court disagrees with plaintiffs.
The language of Section 240(1) must be interpreted "in light of the historical development of these provisions." Russin v. Louis Picciano & Son, 54 N.Y.2d 311, 445 N.Y.S.2d 127, 429 N.E.2d 805 (1981). The legislative history of § 240(1) supports the Court's decision. In 1969 the legislature amended the statute to include the phrase "all owners, contractors and their agents" in an effort to expand liability:
This bill places ultimate responsibility for safety practices at building construction jobs where such responsibility actually belongs, on the owner and general contractor. ... The owner and general contractor have the prime contract and interest in completing the work. They choose the subcontractors and coordinate the work and, in addition, have overall supervision of all work.... Under the present Sections 240 and 241 of the Labor Law the non-delegable duty has shifted from the general contractor to the subcontractor, making him responsible for many things that he has no control of, such as coordination and overall supervision of the work.
N.Y.Legis.Ann. 1969 at 407, 408 (emphasis added).
The state legislature thus sought to impose absolute liability pursuant to this statute on those parties who have an opportunity to supervise or control conditions at the workplace. The amendment further sought to insure that owners would not escape from liability even if their lessees arranged for and supervised the work at issue. By its action, the legislature imposed liability on both an actively involved lessee and a more passive owner. See, e.g., Haimes v. New York Telephone Co., 46 N.Y.2d 132, 136, 412 N.Y.S.2d 863, 865, 385 N.E.2d 601, 603 (1978); Ramos v. Marksue Realty Corp., 586 F.Supp. 488, 490 (S.D.N. Y.1984). Although the legislature adopted § 240(1) to protect workers, a court cannot justify imposing liability on those lessees not in a position to insure worker safety.
That is not to say that a lessee may never be considered an "owner" pursuant to the terms of § 240(1). In Katz v. Press Management Corp., 117 Misc.2d 870, 459 N.Y.S.2d 383 (Sup.Ct., Broome Co., 1983) the court interpreted § 240(1) by looking to the definition of "owner" in Article 11, Title 6 of the Labor Laws, which addresses the "Duties of Owners and Occupiers." In § 315 of Title 6, "owner" is defined as "the owner of the premises, or the lessee of the whole thereof, or the agent in charge of the property." See id. at 386 (). The term "has not been limited to the titleholder ... but has been held to encompass a person who has an interest in the property and who has fulfilled the role of owner by contracting to have the work performed for his benefit." Bach v. Emery Air Freight Corp., 128 A.D.2d 490, 512 N.Y.S.2d 417, 418 (2d Dep't 1987) (citations omitted). More specifically, he is the "party who, as a practical matter, has the right to hire or fire subcontractors and to insist that proper safety practices are followed." Id. (citations omitted).
When deciding whether to impose the absolute liability of § 240(1) upon a lessee, courts consider the extent of the control exercised by the lessee over matters pertaining to the workplace. The court in Novell v. Carney Elec. Const., Corp., 123 Misc.2d 1089, 476 N.Y.S.2d 241 (Sup. Ct.New York Co.1984) apportioned...
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