St. John v. Westwood-Squibb Pharm., Inc.

• Decision Date: 29 April 2016
• Docket Number: 405 CA 15-01567.
• Citation: 138 A.D.3d 1501,31 N.Y.S.3d 720,2016 N.Y. Slip Op. 03378
• Parties: Kathleen ST. JOHN, Plaintiff–Respondent, v. WESTWOOD–SQUIBB PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., Defendant–Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

138 A.D.3d 1501

31 N.Y.S.3d 720

2016 N.Y. Slip Op. 03378

Kathleen ST. JOHN, Plaintiff–Respondent,

v.WESTWOOD–SQUIBB PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., Defendant–Appellant.

405 CA 15-01567.

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

April 29, 2016.

Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham LLC, Buffalo (Joshua P. Rubin of Counsel), for Defendant–Appellant.

Dolce Panepinto, P.C., Buffalo (Anne M. Wheeler of Counsel), for Plaintiff–Respondent.

PRESENT: CENTRA, J.P., PERADOTTO, CARNI, CURRAN, AND TROUTMAN, JJ.

MEMORANDUM:

Plaintiff commenced this Labor Law and common-law negligence action seeking damages for injuries she sustained when she allegedly tripped or slipped on debris while she was attempting to attach lighting equipment to the trailer hitch of a pickup truck. The lighting equipment was being prepared for use in a project to rehabilitate several bridges that were located on a public roadway. The accident occurred in a parking lot that was owned by defendant and was adjacent to the roadway where the bridges were located. Defendant's parent corporation, which is not a party to this action, leased the parking lot to plaintiff's employer for use as a staging area for the project. Defendant appeals from an order that denied its motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

Defendant contends that plaintiff was not entitled to the protections of Labor Law § 241(6) because the injury did not occur on the construction site. We reject that contention. The protections of Labor Law § 241(6) “extend[ ] to areas where materials or equipment are being readied for use” at a construction site (Gonnerman v. Huddleston, 78 A.D.3d 993, 995, 913 N.Y.S.2d 670 ), and the record establishes that the lighting equipment was being prepared in the staging area “for imminent use in the ongoing construction” project (Adams v. Alvaro Constr. Corp., 161 A.D.2d 1014, 1015, 557 N.Y.S.2d 584 ; see Scott v. Westmore Fuel Co., Inc., 96 A.D.3d 520, 520, 947 N.Y.S.2d 15 ; Gonnerman, 78 A.D.3d at 995, 913 N.Y.S.2d 670 ; Shields v. General Elec. Co., 3 A.D.3d 715, 717, 771 N.Y.S.2d 249 ).

Contrary to defendant's further contention, it did not establish as a matter of law that it is not a property owner for the purposes of Labor Law § 241(6). An out-of-possession property owner who does not contract for the injury-producing work may be liable under the Labor Law when there is “some nexus between the owner and the worker, whether by a lease agreement or grant of an easement, or other property interest” (Abbatiello v. Lancaster Studio Assoc., 3 N.Y.3d 46, 51, 781 N.Y.S.2d 477, 814 N.E.2d 784 ; see Morton v. State of New York, 15 N.Y.3d 50, 56, 904 N.Y.S.2d 350, 930 N.E.2d 271 ; see also Fronce v. Port Byron Tel. Co., Inc., 134 A.D.3d 1405, 1406, 21 N.Y.S.3d 788 ). We conclude that defendant failed to establish that the lease between its parent corporation and plaintiff's employer did not create a sufficient nexus between defendant and plaintiff (see generally Winegrad v. New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 N.Y.2d 851, 853, 487 N.Y.S.2d 316, 476 N.E.2d 642 ).

We reject defendant's contention that collateral estoppel bars plaintiff's Labor Law § 241(6) cause of action insofar as it is based upon alleged violations of 12 NYCRR 23–1.7(d), and (e)(1) and (2). In a prior action in the Court of Claims, plaintiff alleged that the State of New York (State) was liable for her injuries under Labor Law § 241(6) based upon violations of those same regulations. In granting the State's motion for summary judgment dismissing the claim, the Court of Claims concluded, inter alia, that those regulations were not applicable to plaintiff's injury, and we affirmed the order on the alternative ground that the State was not an “owner” for the purposes of liability under § 241(6) (St. John v. State of New York, 124 A.D.3d 1399, 1400, 1 N.Y.S.3d 697 ). Thus, collateral estoppel does not prevent plaintiff from alleging in this case that her injury was caused by violations of those regulations because there “was an alternative basis for a trial-level decision, [and this C]ourt affirmed the decision without addressing that ruling” concerning the applicability of the regulations (Tydings v. Greenfield, Stein & Senior, LLP, 11 N.Y.3d 195, 197, 868 N.Y.S.2d 563, 897 N.E.2d 1044 ).

Nevertheless, we agree with defendant that 12 NYCRR 23–1.7(d), and (e)(1) and (2) are not applicable to the facts of this case, and we therefore modify the order accordingly. The injury-producing work took place in a parking lot, and thus did not take place on a “floor, passageway, walkway, scaffold, platform or other elevated work surface” required to be kept free of slipping hazards within the meaning of section 23–1.7(d) (see Bannister v. LPCiminelli, Inc., 93 A.D.3d 1294, 1295–1296, 940 N.Y.S.2d 749 ; Talbot v. Jetview Props., LLC, 51 A.D.3d 1396, 1397–1398, 857 N.Y.S.2d 411 ). The work also did not take place in a “passageway” required to be kept free of tripping and other hazards within the meaning of section 23–1.7(e) (1) (see Steiger v. LPCiminelli, Inc., 104 A.D.3d 1246, 1250, 961 N.Y.S.2d 634 ), nor did it take place on a “floor[ ], platform[ ][or] similar area[ ] where persons work or pass” within the meaning of section 23–1.7(e)(2) (see Raffa v. City of New York, 100 A.D.3d 558, 559, 955 N.Y.S.2d 9 ; Bauer v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., 249 A.D.2d 948, 949, 672 N.Y.S.2d 567 ). Plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact with respect to the applicability of those regulations (see generally Zuckerman v. City of New York, 49 N.Y.2d 557, 562, 427 N.Y.S.2d 595, 404 N.E.2d 718 ).

Contrary to defendant's contention, 12 NYCRR 23–2.1(b) is sufficiently specific to support a Labor Law § 241(6) cause of action (see Coleman v. ISG Lackawanna Servs., LLC, 74 A.D.3d 1825, 1826, 902 N.Y.S.2d 480 ), and Supreme Court properly determined that defendant failed to establish that the regulation is not applicable to the facts of this case (see generally Arenas v. Bon–Ton Dept. Stores, Inc., 35 A.D.3d 1205, 1206, 829 N.Y.S.2d 297 ; Kvandal v. Westminster Presbyt. Socy. of Buffalo, 254 A.D.2d 818, 818–819, 678 N.Y.S.2d 185 ). Thus, the court properly denied that part of defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the Labor Law § 241(6) cause of action with respect to that regulation.

Defendant also contends that the court erred in denying that part of its motion with respect to the Labor Law § 200 and common-law negligence causes of action. We reject that contention....