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Bascombe v. West 44th Street Hotel, LLC

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.
Jan 28, 2015
124 A.D.3d 812 (N.Y. App. Div. 2015)

Summary

In Bascombe the Court relied on the affidavit of the Plaintiff's supervisor who stated that there was available safety equipment and that Plaintiff was aware of it.

Summary of this case from Rahim v. Kaba Realty, LLC

Opinion

01-28-2015

Roger E. BASCOMBE, appellant, v. WEST 44TH STREET HOTEL, LLC, et al., respondents.

 Edelman & Edelman, P.C., New York, N.Y. (David M. Schuller of counsel), for appellant. Cozen O'Connor, New York, N.Y. (Rory G. Greebel of counsel), for respondents.


Edelman & Edelman, P.C., New York, N.Y. (David M. Schuller of counsel), for appellant.

Cozen O'Connor, New York, N.Y. (Rory G. Greebel of counsel), for respondents.

REINALDO E. RIVERA, J.P., THOMAS A. DICKERSON, SHERI S. ROMAN, and JEFFREY A. COHEN, 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, Kings County (Solomon, J.), dated March 12, 2013, as denied that branch of his motion which was for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240(1).

ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.

The plaintiff allegedly was injured while working on the 15th floor during the construction of a multi-story building located in Manhattan. The accident occurred when a piece of plywood, which had been placed over an opening in the floor, collapsed beneath him when he stepped onto it. The plaintiff moved, inter alia, for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240(1). The Supreme Court denied that branch of the plaintiff's motion, finding that there was a triable issue of fact as to whether the plaintiff's own conduct was the proximate cause of his injuries.

‘Labor Law § 240(1) imposes upon owners and general contractors, and their agents, a nondelegable duty to provide safety devices necessary to protect workers from risks inherent in elevated work sites' ” (Probst v. 11 W. 42 Realty Invs., LLC, 106 A.D.3d 711, 711, 965 N.Y.S.2d 513, quoting McCarthy v. Turner Constr., Inc., 17 N.Y.3d 369, 374, 929 N.Y.S.2d 556, 953 N.E.2d 794 ). To prevail on a cause of action pursuant to Labor Law § 240(1), the plaintiff must establish a violation of the statute and that the violation was a proximate cause of his injuries (see Blake v. Neighborhood Hous. Servs. of N.Y. City, 1 N.Y.3d 280, 287–288, 771 N.Y.S.2d 484, 803 N.E.2d 757 ; Przyborowski v. A & M Cook, LLC, 120 A.D.3d 651, 992 N.Y.S.2d 56 ). Although contributory negligence on the part of the worker is not a defense to a Labor Law § 240(1) claim (see Blake v. Neighborhood Hous. Servs. of N.Y. City, 1 N.Y.3d at 286, 771 N.Y.S.2d 484, 803 N.E.2d 757 ; Forschner v. Jucca Co., 63 A.D.3d 996, 883 N.Y.S.2d 63 ), where a plaintiff's actions are the sole proximate cause of his injuries, liability under Labor Law § 240(1) does not attach (see Robinson v. East Med. Ctr., LP, 6 N.Y.3d 550, 554, 814 N.Y.S.2d 589, 847 N.E.2d 1162 ; Weininger v. Hagedorn & Co., 91 N.Y.2d 958, 960, 672 N.Y.S.2d 840, 695 N.E.2d 709 ; Cioffi v. Target Corp., 114 A.D.3d 897, 898, 981 N.Y.S.2d 130 ; Corchado

v. 5030 Broadway Props., LLC, 103 A.D.3d 768, 768–769, 962 N.Y.S.2d 185 ).

Here, although the plaintiff met his prima facie burden of establishing a violation of Labor Law § 240(1) (see Silvia v. Bow Tie Partners, LLC, 77 A.D.3d 1143, 1145, 909 N.Y.S.2d 202 ; Zong Mou Zou v. Hai Ming Constr. Corp., 74 A.D.3d 800, 801, 902 N.Y.S.2d 610 ; Robertti v. Powers Chang, 227 A.D.2d 542, 543, 642 N.Y.S.2d 715 ), the defendants produced evidence that a safety harness and line were available to the plaintiff, that he was aware that he was required to anchor the line on the floor where he was working, and that the anchors, harness, and line would have prevented him from falling to the 14th floor, but that the plaintiff had consciously decided not to anchor his line on the 15th floor as instructed. The defendant's submissions were sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the plaintiff's actions were the sole proximate cause of his accident (see Yedynak v. Citnalta Constr. Corp., 22 A.D.3d 840, 841, 803 N.Y.S.2d 705 ).

Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly denied that branch of the plaintiff's motion which was for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action.


Summaries of

Bascombe v. West 44th Street Hotel, LLC

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.
Jan 28, 2015
124 A.D.3d 812 (N.Y. App. Div. 2015)

In Bascombe the Court relied on the affidavit of the Plaintiff's supervisor who stated that there was available safety equipment and that Plaintiff was aware of it.

Summary of this case from Rahim v. Kaba Realty, LLC
Case details for

Bascombe v. West 44th Street Hotel, LLC

Case Details

Full title:Roger E. BASCOMBE, appellant, v. WEST 44TH STREET HOTEL, LLC, et al.…

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

Date published: Jan 28, 2015

Citations

124 A.D.3d 812 (N.Y. App. Div. 2015)
2 N.Y.S.3d 569
2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 712

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