Estate of Loveria v. Portadam, Inc.

850 F. Supp. 2d 354, 30 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1482, 2010 WL 2087083, 23 OSHC (BNA) 1122, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51250
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. New York
DecidedMay 25, 2010
DocketNo. 3:09-CV-1215
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 850 F. Supp. 2d 354 (Estate of Loveria v. Portadam, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Estate of Loveria v. Portadam, Inc., 850 F. Supp. 2d 354, 30 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1482, 2010 WL 2087083, 23 OSHC (BNA) 1122, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51250 (N.D.N.Y. 2010).

Opinion

[356]*356 DECISION and ORDER

THOMAS J. McAVOY, Senior District Judge.

On October 29, 2009, the Estate of Timothy A. Loveria by Gregorio O. Loveria, Administrator (Plaintiff), commenced a wrongful death action pursuant to N.Y. EPTL §§ 5-4.1 through 5-4.5 and a survival action pursuant to N.Y. EPTL § 11-3.3 alleging that “Portadam, Robert Gatta, and Timothy Brearman, individually and collectively, intentionally failed to take safety precautions required by OSHA and industry standards to protect Loveria and Loveria drowned at [the Portadam Job Site].” See Docket No. 1. Defendants filed the instant motion for summary judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 arguing that the Complaint should be dismissed: (1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction; (2) due to the workers’ compensation bar; and (3) for lack of personal jurisdiction as to Timothy Brearman.

I. FACTS

This case arises out of a workplace accident which resulted in the death of Timothy A. Loveria. The decedent was working as a commercial diver in the course of his. employment with Defendant Portadam, Inc. (Portadam). The project involved the removal of a temporary dam and the dredging and widening of a channel. Before the incident occurred, decedent was diving to remove sandbags under the water. According to the Complaint, “Loveria was submerged under water when a life-threatening condition arose requiring emergency assistance from other Portadam employees at the Job Site.” See Docket No. 1.

At the time of the incident, Defendant Brearman was standing on a float pulling out steel frames from the water. Decedent informed Brearman that he was running low on air in his tank but that he had enough air in his tank to make it to shore. Decedent then proceeded to shore and Brearman continued working. While working, Brearman heard someone yell from the shore that decedent needed help. Another Portadam diver, Booth, performed a séarch and rescue for decedent. Booth found decedent in the water and he was taken on shore where CPR was applied and an ambulance arrived.

The Complaint alleges that “Portadam employees failed to act in the manner required by law and industry standards to the emergency condition involving Loveria, and Loveria drowned as a result thereof.” Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants violated 29 C.F.R. §§ 1910.410, 1910.420, 1910.421, 1910.422, 1910.423, 1910.424, 1910.430, and 1904.39 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Generally, these sections require: (1) certain qualifications for every member of the dive team; (2) procedures to follow before, during and after dives, specifically that a diver be line-tendered from the surface, or accompanied by another diver in the water in continuous visual contact during the diving operations; (3) certain equipment to be kept at the dive site; and (4) incident reporting procedures. The Complaint goes on to maintain that “the foregoing violations represent a widespread pattern of practice by Portadam, in violation of the OSHA regulations, which violations were a substantial factor in causing the death of Loveria” and that “Portadam knew, or should have known, that its actions in failing to maintain safe work conditions in general, and specifically at the Job Site at issue, in conformity with OSHA laws were substantially certain to result in the death of Loveria.”

Following the incident, decedent’s mother commenced a workers’ compensation claim in New Jersey. On October 29, [357]*3572009, Decedent’s estate filed the Complaint in the instant action. Defendants filed this motion for summary judgment on March 25, 2010 arguing that the Complaint should be dismissed: (1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction; (2) due to the workers’ compensation bar; and (3) for lack of personal jurisdiction as to Timothy Brearman. Plaintiff opposes the motion arguing that the action for wrongful death falls under the intentional tort exception to the workers’ compensation exclusivity bar. Plaintiff concedes that Defendant Gatta is a resident of the State of New York, and, thus, because he is not diverse should be dismissed from the action. Similarly, Plaintiff concedes that the complaint should be dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction as to Brearman because he is a resident of Pennsylvania and is not subject to long arm jurisdiction in New York.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment, pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c), is warranted if “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” The party moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden of showing, through the production of admissible evidence, that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. v. Salvino, 542 F.3d 290, 309 (2d Cir.2008). Only after the moving party has met this burden is the non-moving party required to produce evidence demonstrating that genuine issues of material fact exist. Salahuddin v. Goord, 467 F.3d 263, 272-73 (2d Cir.2006). The nonmoving party must do more than “rest upon the mere allegations ... of the [plaintiffs] pleading” or “simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 585-86, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e) (“When a motion for summary judgment is made [by a defendant] and supported as provided in this rule, the [plaintiff] may not rest upon the mere allegations ... of the [plaintiffs] pleading .... ”). Rather, “[a] dispute regarding a material fact is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Ross v. McGinnis, 00-CV0275, 2004 WL 1125177, at *8 (W.D.N.Y. Mar. 29, 2004) [internal quotations omitted] [emphasis added].

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850 F. Supp. 2d 354, 30 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1482, 2010 WL 2087083, 23 OSHC (BNA) 1122, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51250, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/estate-of-loveria-v-portadam-inc-nynd-2010.