Opinion
5653 Index 155573/12
02-08-2018
Scott MILLER, et al., Plaintiffs–Respondents, v. 177 NINTH AVENUE CONDOMINIUM, et al., Defendants–Appellants, Chelsea Enclave Owners Corp., et al., Defendants.
Shaub, Ahmuty, Citrin & Spratt, LLP, Lake Success (Christopher Simone of counsel), for appellants. Slater, Sgarlato & Cappello, P.C., Staten Island (Robert A. Sgarlato of counsel), for respondents.
Shaub, Ahmuty, Citrin & Spratt, LLP, Lake Success (Christopher Simone of counsel), for appellants.
Slater, Sgarlato & Cappello, P.C., Staten Island (Robert A. Sgarlato of counsel), for respondents.
Renwick, J.P., Manzanet–Daniels, Andrias, Kapnick, Moulton, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Ellen M. Coin, J.), entered August 24, 2017, which, insofar as appealed from as limited by the briefs, granted plaintiffs' cross motion for summary judgment as to liability on the Labor Law § 240(1) claim, unanimously affirmed, without costs.Plaintiffs established that the accident was proximately caused by the undisputed absence of safety devices affording adequate protection against the elevation-related risks that the injured plaintiff faced as he and another laborer hoisted a 300–pound laundry bin to empty the debris within it into a dumpster (see Harris v. City of New York, 83 A.D.3d 104, 109–110, 923 N.Y.S.2d 2 [1st Dept. 2011], citing Runner v. New York Stock Exch., Inc., 13 N.Y.3d 599, 603, 895 N.Y.S.2d 279, 922 N.E.2d 865 [2009] ). In light of the weight of the bin and the significant force it was capable of generating over the course of its five- to seven-foot fall, the height differential is not de minimis (see Runner, 13 N.Y.3d at 605, 895 N.Y.S.2d 279, 922 N.E.2d 865 ; Jordan v. City of New York, 126 A.D.3d 619, 3 N.Y.S.3d 605 [1st Dept. 2015] ).
We have considered defendants' remaining arguments and find them unavailing.