Cucchiarella v. Tishman Interiors Corp.

2025 NY Slip Op 31940(U)
CourtNew York Supreme Court, New York County
DecidedJune 2, 2025
DocketIndex No. 595581/2022
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2025 NY Slip Op 31940(U) (Cucchiarella v. Tishman Interiors Corp.) 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
Cucchiarella v. Tishman Interiors Corp., 2025 NY Slip Op 31940(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2025).

Opinion

Cucchiarella v Tishman Interiors Corp. 2025 NY Slip Op 31940(U) June 2, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 595581/2022 Judge: Sabrina Kraus 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. FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 06/02/2025 04:24 PM INDEX NO. 152245/2021 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 189 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 06/02/2025

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PRESENT: HON. SABRINA KRAUS PART 57M Justice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 152245/2021 LUCIAN CUCCHIARELLA, MOTION DATE 03/10/2025 Plaintiff, MOTION SEQ. NO. 004 -against- TISHMAN INTERIORS CORPORATION, OAC 550 OWNER, LLC, and ADCO ELECTRIC d/b/a ADCO DECISION + ORDER ON ELECTRICAL CORP., MOTION Defendants. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

TISHMAN INTERIORS CORPORATION and OAC 550 Third-Party OWNER, LLC, Index No. 595581/2022

Third-Party Plaintiffs,

-against-

ADCO ELECTRIC d/b/a ADCO ELECTRICAL CORP.,

Third-Party Defendant. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 004) 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 181, 182, 183 were read on this motion for SUMMARY JUDGMENT .

This is an action to recover for a workplace accident that occurred on December 18, 2020

at 550 Madison Avenue, New York, New York. Defendants/third-party plaintiffs Tishman

Interiors Corporation (Tishman) and OAC 550 Owner, LLC (Owner) move, pursuant to CPLR

3212, for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s Labor Law §§ 240 (1), 241 (6), and 200 and

common-law negligence claims. In addition, Tishman and Owner move for summary judgment

on their third-party claims for contractual indemnification, common-law indemnification,

contribution, and breach of contract for failure to procure insurance against defendant/third-party

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defendant ADCO Electric d/b/a ADCO Electrical Corp. (ADCO). Finally, Tishman and Owner

seek dismissal of all cross-claims and counterclaims against them.

BACKGROUND

Familiarity with the court’s decision and order dated May 13, 2025 in this case is

presumed. Briefly, Owner was the fee owner of the premises on the date of the accident

(NYSCEF Doc No. 123, verified answer, ¶ 6). By construction management agreement dated

June 21, 2019, Owner retained Tishman as a construction manager to renovate, reconstruct,

reposition, and construct a commercial mixed-use building on the premises (NYSCEF Doc No.

127). Tishman retained plaintiff’s employer, D’Aprile Inc., the masonry contractor (NYSCEF

Doc No. 128), and ADCO, the electrical contractor (NYSCEF Doc No. 129).

On the date of the accident, plaintiff was preparing a wall to be waterproofed with

caulking (NYSCEF Doc No. 131, plaintiff tr at 40, 43, 36). Plaintiff testified that, while he was

preparing the wall about midway up a ladder, “it was like someone kicked the ladder from

underneath [him],” which caused his legs to swing sideways and him to land on his right hip on

the concrete floor (id. at 47, 54). He further testified that “it felt like the ladder shot out from

underneath [him] and then [he] was falling” (id. at 110). He stated that no one was holding the

ladder (id. at 57). He further stated that he was not reaching or leaning when he was on the

ladder (id. at 55). Plaintiff testified that the ladder seemed “pretty stable,” and did not see

anything wrong with the ladder before or after the accident (id. at 53, 57, 58, 63). Plaintiff had

never heard of ADCO (id. at 99).

ADCO’s foreman, Chris Marchisotto (Marchisotto), testified that it tagged its ladders

with an “ADCO” stencil (NYSCEF Doc No. 134, Marchisotto tr at 33, 53, 61). Marchisotto was

told the day after the accident that plaintiff was using one of ADCO’s ladders (id. at 50-51).

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ADCO did not allow employees of other companies to use its ladders (id. at 42). Marchisotto

further testified that if he saw plaintiff using ADCO’s ladder, he would have told him to get off

the ladder (id. at 56). Marchisotto stated that he locked up ADCO’s ladders when they were not

being used (id. at 43).

After the accident, the site safety manager took a photograph of the ladder that plaintiff

was using, which contained an “ADCO” marking on it (NYSCEF Doc No. 133, Keeley tr at 9,

36, 40).

Plaintiff’s foreman, Nick Cucchiarella, provided a statement dated January 5, 2021,

indicating that “plaintiff was standing on 8 ft, A-frame, fiberglass ladder. This ladder is owned

by ADCO” (NYSCEF Doc No. 179 at 1).

Plaintiff commenced this action against Tishman and Owner, among others, asserting

claims for violations of Labor Law §§ 200, 240, and 241 and for common-law negligence

(NYSCEF Doc No. 1).

Tishman and Owner then commenced a third-party action against ADCO, asserting

claims for: (1) breach of contract; (2) contribution; (3) common-law indemnification; and (4)

contractual indemnification (NYSCEF Doc No. 24).

Plaintiff then commenced a separate action against ADCO under index No. 162046/23,

asserting the same claims (NYSCEF Doc No. 1, complaint in index No. 162046/23).

By order dated February 22, 2024, the court consolidated this action with index No.

162046/23 under this index number pursuant to the parties’ stipulation dated February 14, 2024

(NYSCEF Doc No. 50).

By decision and order dated May 13, 2025, the court granted plaintiff’s motion for partial

summary judgment under Labor Law § 240 (1) as against Tishman and Owner (Cucchiarella v

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Tishman Interiors Corp., 2025 NY Slip Op 31759[U], *17-18 [Sup Ct, NY County 2025]). In

addition, the court dismissed the third-party claims for common-law indemnification and

contractual indemnification against ADCO (id. at *21-28).

DISCUSSION

It is well established that “[t]he proponent of summary judgment must establish its

defense or cause of action sufficiently to warrant a court’s directing judgment in its favor as a

matter of law” (Ryan v Trustees of Columbia Univ. in the City of N.Y., Inc., 96 AD3d 551, 553

[1st Dept 2012] [internal quotation marks and citation omitted]). “Thus, the movant bears the

burden to dispel any question of fact that would preclude summary judgment” (id.). “Failure to

make such showing requires denial of the motion, regardless of the sufficiency of the opposing

papers” (Winegrad v New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 NY2d 851, 853 [1985]). “Once this showing

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Cucchiarella v. Tishman Interiors Corp.
2025 NY Slip Op 31940(U) (New York Supreme Court, New York County, 2025)

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2025 NY Slip Op 31940(U), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cucchiarella-v-tishman-interiors-corp-nysupctnewyork-2025.