Cunningham v. Alexander's King Plaza, LLC

22 A.D.3d 703, 803 N.Y.S.2d 125
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedOctober 24, 2005
DocketAppeal No. 1; Appeal No. 2; Appeal No. 3
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 22 A.D.3d 703 (Cunningham v. Alexander's King Plaza, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cunningham v. Alexander's King Plaza, LLC, 22 A.D.3d 703, 803 N.Y.S.2d 125 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, (1) the defendants Alexander’s Kings Plaza, LLC, Alexander’s Kings Plaza Center, Inc., Kings Plaza Corp., Alexander’s Department Stores of Brooklyn, Inc., Alexander’s of Brooklyn, Inc., Kings Plaza Shopping Center of Flatbush Avenue, Inc., Kings Plaza Shopping Center of Avenue U, Inc., and Vornado Realty Trust appeal, as limited by their brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Barasch, J.), dated March 5, 2004, as denied those branches of their motion which were for summary judgment dismissing the causes of action alleging violations of Labor Law § 240 (1) and § 241 (6) insofar as asserted against them, (2) the defendants Old Navy, Inc., and The Gap., Inc., appeal from an order of the same court also dated March 5, 2004, which denied their motion for summary judgment on their cross claims against the defendant Fisher Development, Inc., for common-law and contractual indemnification, and (3) the defendants Old Navy, Inc., and The Gap, Inc., appeal, as limited by their brief, from so much of an order of the same court dated August 31, 2004, as denied that branch of their motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240 (1) insofar as asserted against them and granted that branch of the motion of the defendant Fisher Development, Inc., which was for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240 (1) insofar as asserted against it, [705]*705and the plaintiff cross-appeals from so much of the order dated August 31, 2004, as granted that branch of the motion of the defendants Old Navy, Inc., and The Gap, Inc., .which was for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 241 (6) insofar as asserted against them, and granted those branches of the motion of the defendant Fisher Development, Inc., which were for summary judgment dismissing the causes of action alleging violations of Labor Law § 240 (1) and § 241 (6) insofar as asserted against it.

Ordered that the first order dated March 5, 2004, is modified, on the law, by deleting the provision thereof denying that branch of the motion of the defendants Alexander’s Kings Plaza, LLC, Alexander’s Kings Plaza Center, Inc., Kings Plaza Corp., Alexander’s Department Stores of Brooklyn, Inc., Alexander’s of Brooklyn, Inc., Kings Plaza Shopping Center of Flatbush Avenue, Inc., Kings Plaza Shopping Center of Avenue U, Inc., and Vornado Realty Trust which was for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 241 (6) insofar as asserted against them and substituting therefor a provision granting that branch of the motion; as so modified, the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements; and it is further,

Ordered that the second order dated March 5, 2004, is modified, on the law, by deleting the provision thereof denying that branch of the motion of the defendants Old Navy, Inc., and The Gap, Inc., which was for summary judgment on their cross claim against the defendant Fisher Development, Inc., for contractual indemnification and substituting therefor a provision granting that branch of the motion; as so modified, the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements; and it is further,

Ordered that the appeal by Old Navy, Inc., and The Gap, Inc., from so much of the order dated August 31, 2004, as granted that branch of the motion of the defendant Fisher Development, Inc., which was for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240 (1) insofar as asserted against it is dismissed as those parties are not aggrieved by that portion of the order; and it is further,

Ordered that the order dated August 31, 2004, is modified, on the law, by deleting the provision thereof granting that branch of the motion of the defendant Fisher Development, Inc., which was for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240 (1) insofar as asserted against it and substituting therefor a provision denying that branch of the motion; as so modified, the order is affirmed insofar as appealed and cross-appealed from, without costs or disbursements.

[706]*706The Supreme Court properly denied those branches of the separate motions of the defendants Alexander’s Kings Plaza, LLC, Alexander’s Kings Plaza Center, Inc., Kings Plaza Corp., Alexander’s Department Stores of Brooklyn, Inc., Alexander’s of Brooklyn, Inc., Kings Plaza Shopping Center of Flatbush Avenue, Inc., Kings Plaza Shopping Center of Avenue U, Inc., and Vornado Realty Trust (hereinafter the owner defendants), and the defendants The Gap, Inc. (hereinafter The Gap) and its subsidiary, Old Navy, Inc. (hereinafter Old Navy), which were for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240 (1) insofar as asserted against them. Although there is no dispute that the ladder from which the defendant fell was not defective, these defendants failed to establish, prima facie, either that the plaintiff was provided with proper additional safety devices, or that no such devices were necessary (see Karapati v K.J. Rocchio, Inc., 12 AD3d 413, 415 [2004]; Alesius v Good Samaritan Hosp. Med. & Dialysis Ctr., 6 AD3d 470, 471 [2004]; see generally Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 562 [1980]). Moreover, the plaintiffs work in splicing telephone wires as part of the construction of an Old Navy store within a shopping mall was a protected activity under Labor Law § 240 (1) (see Prats v Port Auth. of N.Y. & N.J., 100 NY2d 878, 882 [2003]; Joblon v Solow, 91 NY2d 457, 465 [1998]).

However, inasmuch as the defendant Fisher Development, Inc. (hereinafter FDI), the general contractor for the project, similarly failed to establish, prima facie, either that the plaintiff was provided with proper additional safety devices, or that no such devices were necessary (see Karapati v K.J. Rocchio, Inc., supra at 415; Alesius v Good Samaritan Hosp. Med. & Dialysis Ctr., supra at 471; see generally Zuckerman v City of New York, supra at 562), the Supreme Court erred in granting that branch of FDI’s motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240 (1) insofar as asserted against it.

The Supreme Court also properly granted that branch of the separate motion of The Gap and Old Navy and that branch of FDI’s motion which were for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 241 (6) insofar as asserted against them, but erred in denying that branch of the owner defendants’ motion which was for summary judgment dismissing that same cause of action insofar as asserted against them. The plaintiff alleged that all of the named defendants violated 12 NYCRR 23-1.21 (e) (3), which requires that “[w]hen work is being performed from a step of a steplad[707]*707der 10 feet or more above the footing, such stepladder shall be steadied by a person stationed at the foot of the stepladder or such stepladder shall be secured against sway by mechanical means.” However, the plaintiff testified at her deposition that the ladder did not move either before or after the accident. Therefore, any alleged failure to secure the ladder was not a proximate cause of the accident, and the defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law (see Enderlin v Hebert Indus. Insulation, 224 AD2d 1020, 1021 [1996]).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
22 A.D.3d 703, 803 N.Y.S.2d 125, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cunningham-v-alexanders-king-plaza-llc-nyappdiv-2005.