Callan v. RCB3 Nominee LLC

2024 NY Slip Op 32968(U)
CourtNew York Supreme Court, New York County
DecidedAugust 23, 2024
DocketIndex No. 158801/2019
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2024 NY Slip Op 32968(U) (Callan v. RCB3 Nominee LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court, New York County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Callan v. RCB3 Nominee LLC, 2024 NY Slip Op 32968(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2024).

Opinion

Callan v RCB3 Nominee LLC 2024 NY Slip Op 32968(U) August 23, 2024 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 158801/2019 Judge: David B. Cohen Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. INDEX NO. 158801/2019 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 116 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/23/2024

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PRESENT: HON. DAVID B. COHEN PART 58 Justice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 158801/2019 FRANK CALLAN, MOTION DATE 12/12/2023 Plaintiff, MOTION SEQ. NO. 001 002 003 -v- RCB3 NOMINEE LLC, TISHMAN CONSTRUCTION DECISION + ORDER ON COMPANY, MOTION Defendants. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 89, 100, 101, 102, 103, 106, 107, 108 were read on this motion to/for JUDGMENT - SUMMARY .

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 002) 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 92, 93, 104, 105, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113 were read on this motion to/for SUMMARY JUDGMENT (AFTER JOINDER) .

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 003) 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 were read on this motion to/for JUDGMENT - SUMMARY .

This is an action to recover damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained by plaintiff

on December 28, 2018, when, while working on a construction site located at 10 Riverside

Boulevard, New York, New York (the Premises), he allegedly fell from a ladder.

In motion sequence number 001, plaintiff moves, pursuant to CPLR 3212, for summary

judgment in his favor on his Labor Law § 240(1) claim as against defendants/third-party

plaintiffs RCB3 Nominee, LLC (RCB3) and Tishman Construction Company (Tishman)

(together, defendants).

In motion sequence number 002, defendants move, pursuant to CPLR 3212, for summary

judgment dismissing the complaint as against them and for summary judgment in their favor on

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their third-party claim for contractual indemnification as against third-party defendant J&L

Electrical & Communications Group, Inc. (J&L).

In motion sequence number 003, J&L moves, pursuant to CPLR 3212, for summary

judgment dismissing the third-party complaint as against it.

The motions are hereby consolidated for disposition.

I. BACKGROUND

On the day of the accident, the Premises was owned by RCB3, which had hired Tishman

to provide construction management services for a project at the Premises that entailed the

construction of a new residential tower (the Project). Tishman subcontracted mechanical work to

non-party JPR Mechanical, Inc. (JPR), which subcontracted some of its work to non-party

Automated Logic Contracting Services, Inc. (Automatic), which then subcontracted electrical

work to J&L. Plaintiff was employed by J&L.

Plaintiff’s Testimony (NYSCEF Doc. No. 67)

Plaintiff testified that on the day of the accident, he was a electrician employed by J&L.

He worked on the Project and was supervised by a J&L foreman (plaintiff’s tr at 33), from whom

he received directions (id. at 43).

Plaintiff’s duties included “running conduit and pulling wire, installing conduit” (id. at

34). On the day of the accident, plaintiff’s task was to install conduit and pull wire throughout a

particular room at the Premises.

Immediately before the accident, plaintiff was installing conduit approximately seven feet

above the floor (id. at 44). To do so, plaintiff needed to use an 8-foot-tall fiberglass A-frame

ladder to reach the installation area, and before climbing the ladder at issue, he inspected it and

found it to be in good condition and not missing any pieces (id. at 45).

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He climbed to the third step of the ladder and performed his work, which included

drilling a hole in the top of an electrical box (id. at 52). Once plaintiff finished drilling the hole,

he began descending the ladder when he “felt the ladder shift a little as [he] was coming down . .

. and [he] lost [his] balance. And then [he] missed a step and went down on [his] right knee” (id.

at 54). Plaintiff further testified that “if the ladder didn’t shift, [he] wouldn’t have missed the

step” (id. at 129-130). He did not know what caused the ladder to shift (id. at 55).

After the accident, plaintiff spoke with a Tishman representative who told plaintiff to

write down what happened, and he did so (id. at 63). He also filled out a J&L accident report (id.

at 65).

At his deposition, plaintiff was shown a copy of Tishman’s accident report, which

included his written statement (the Statement). He confirmed that he wrote and signed the

Statement (id. at 69), and that he did not state therein that the ladder had shifted. Rather, the

report reflects that he missed the last step of the ladder, which caused his knee to twist (NYSCEF

71).

Deposition Testimony of Tishman’s Safety Director (NYSCEF Doc. No. 68)

Tishman’s safety director for the Project testified that his duties included overseeing

safety compliance on residential construction sites, including the general oversite of the project.

Specifically, his duties included making sure that proper tools and equipment were available and

that workers were properly trained.

Tishman was hired by RCB3 as a construction manager for the Project, and it hired

subcontactors for the Project. However, he was unfamiliar with Automated, and did not know

that J&L was working on the project.

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Deposition of J&L’s Owner (NYSCEF Doc. No. 69)

J&L’s owner testified that his responsibilities included general operations of J&L, a

“communication installation company” – primarily installing fiberoptic wires for telephones and

intercoms. He was unaware of who owned the Premises and did not know whether J&L worked

for Tishman (id. at 31)., and he was also unfamiliar with JPR, though he was familiar with

Automated (id. at 31). Automated’s work includes installing devices such as HVAC controls (id.

at 33-34), and Automated hired J&L to install the devices, which included running wiring as

needed. At his deposition, the owner was shown a copy of the Automated/J&L Agreement, and

he confirmed that he signed it (id. at 43).

Tishman’s Accident Report (NYSCEF Doc. No. 71)

CR Safety, Tishman’s safety supervisor, prepared an accident report, dated December 28,

2018 (the Accident Report), which states that plaintiff injured his right knee on a ladder. It also

contained plaintiff’s signed written Statement, to wit:

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2024 NY Slip Op 32968(U), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/callan-v-rcb3-nominee-llc-nysupctnewyork-2024.