Serowik v. Leardon Boiler Works Inc.

• Decision Date: 09 June 2015
• Docket Number: 15350, 309306/10, 83704/11
• Citation: Serowik v. Leardon Boiler Works Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 4773, 129 A.D.3d 471, 11 N.Y.S.3d 128 (N.Y. App. Div. 2015)
• Parties: Jozef SEROWIK, et al., Plaintiffs–Respondents, v. LEARDON BOILER WORKS INC., et al., Defendants–Appellants–Respondents. Leardon Boiler Works Inc., et al., Third–Party Plaintiffs–Appellants–Respondents, v. GDT Associates, Inc., Third–Party Defendant–Respondent–Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

129 A.D.3d 471

11 N.Y.S.3d 128

2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 04773

Jozef SEROWIK, et al., Plaintiffs–Respondents

v.LEARDON BOILER WORKS INC., et al., Defendants–Appellants–Respondents.

Leardon Boiler Works Inc., et al., Third–Party Plaintiffs–Appellants–Respondents

v.GDT Associates, Inc., Third–Party Defendant–Respondent–Appellant.

15350, 309306/10, 83704/11

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

June 9, 2015.

French & Casey, LLP, New York (Joseph A. French of counsel), for appellants-respondents.

Nicoletti Gonson Spinner LLP, New York (Kevin S. Locke of counsel), for respondent-appellant.

Saftler & Bacher, PLLC, New York (Lawrence B. Saftler of counsel), for respondents.

FRIEDMAN, J.P., ACOSTA, MOSKOWITZ, RICHTER, FEINMAN, JJ.

Opinion

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Norma Ruiz, J.), entered August 23, 2013, which granted plaintiff Jozef Serowik's motion for partial summary judgment on liability on his claim pursuant to Labor Law § 240(1), denied defendants/third-party plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, and on their third-party claims for common law indemnification and contribution, and denied third-party defendant GDT Associates, Inc.'s (GDT) motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff's Labor Law § 240(1) and 241(6) claims, unanimously modified, on the law, defendants/third-party plaintiffs' motion granted to the extent of dismissing the common law negligence and Labor Law § 200 claims and awarding them conditional summary judgment on their third-party claim for common law indemnification, and otherwise affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiff, an employee of GDT, was injured while helping to lower a tank weighing at least four to five hundred pounds down a flight of stairs. The tank was attached to one end of the rope, and plaintiff and four others held the rope near the other end, to act as counterweights slowing the tank's descent. However, when the tank was pushed over the edge of the top step, plaintiff was pulled forward into a pipe around which the rope was wrapped, resulting in the rope severing his index finger and part of his middle finger, a grave injury pursuant to Workers' Compensation Law § 11.

Plaintiff's injury was due to the application of gravity to the tank, and the elevation differential was not de minimis given the weight of the tank, which generated sufficient force to pull plaintiff into the pipe and cause injury (Runner v. New York Stock Exch., Inc., 13 N.Y.3d 599, 605, 895 N.Y.S.2d 279, 922 N.E.2d 865 [2009] ). Even if he had wrapped the rope around his arm, such action was not the sole proximate cause of his accident, as plaintiff was not provided with adequate safety devices. In addition, plaintiff's work was a necessary step in the installation of the tank in the building, constituting alterations or other activities protected by Labor Law § 240(1) (see Prats v. Port Auth. of N.Y. & N.J., 100 N.Y.2d 878, 882–883, 768 N.Y.S.2d 178, 800 N.E.2d 351 [2003] ). Accordingly, the motion court correctly granted plaintiff summary judgment as to liability on his claim under section 240(1).

Contrary to defendants/third-party plaintiffs' argument that defendant Leardon Boiler Works, Inc. (Leardon) was not a general contractor that may be liable under the Labor Law, Leardon...