Opinion
12632 Index No. 302679/15 Case No. 2019-04176
12-15-2020
Romeo Sontay IXCOY, Plaintiff–Respondent, v. Christine PAVLOU as Trustee of the Christine Pavlou trust dated Sept. 13, 2006, et al., Defendants–Appellants.
The Law Office of Aaron M. Schlossberg, P.L.L.C., New York (Aaron Schlossberg of counsel), for Christine Pavlou, appellant. Jacobson & Schwartz, LLP, Jericho (Henry J. Cernitz of counsel), for Dafni Grocery Inc., and Dafni Grocery Inc., doing business as Swan Deli, appellants. Gorayeb & Associates, P.C., New York (John M. Shaw of counsel), for respondent.
The Law Office of Aaron M. Schlossberg, P.L.L.C., New York (Aaron Schlossberg of counsel), for Christine Pavlou, appellant.
Jacobson & Schwartz, LLP, Jericho (Henry J. Cernitz of counsel), for Dafni Grocery Inc., and Dafni Grocery Inc., doing business as Swan Deli, appellants.
Gorayeb & Associates, P.C., New York (John M. Shaw of counsel), for respondent.
Renwick, J.P., Gische, Gonza´le,Scarpulla, Mendez, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Norma Ruiz, J.) entered on or about September 9, 2019, which granted plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability on the Labor Law § 240(1) claim, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Plaintiff was injured when, while cleaning an exterior exhaust fan on the unsecured, angled roof of a commercial premises, without any safety device, he slipped on ice which had formed on the rooftop, and fell approximately 12 feet to the ground. The work plaintiff and his coworker were engaged in required the use of a rope, pressure hose, pistol gun and chemicals, and prior to the accident plaintiff had received training as to the proper cleaning procedure.
The motion court properly granted plaintiff's motion. Plaintiff's work constituted "cleaning" within the meaning of Labor Law § 240(1) (see Domaszowec v. Residential Mgt. Group LLC, 135 A.D.3d 572, 23 N.Y.S.3d 225 [1st Dept. 2012] ; cf. Soto v. J. Crew Inc., 21 N.Y.3d 562, 568–569, 976 N.Y.S.2d 421, 998 N.E.2d 1045 [2013] ), and there is no dispute that plaintiff was not supplied any safety devices while working at an elevation, which was a proximate cause of his injuries (see Reyes v. Bruckner Plaza Shopping Ctr. LLC, 173 A.D.3d 570, 105 N.Y.S.3d 74 [1st Dept. 2019] ; Parraguirre v. 27th St. Holding, LLC, 71 A.D.3d 594, 595, 898 N.Y.S.2d 114 [1st Dept. 2010] ).