La Veglia v. St. Francis Hospital

78 A.D.3d 1123, 912 N.Y.S.2d 611
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedNovember 30, 2010
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 78 A.D.3d 1123 (La Veglia v. St. Francis Hospital) 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
La Veglia v. St. Francis Hospital, 78 A.D.3d 1123, 912 N.Y.S.2d 611 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Dutchess County (Dolan, J.), dated March 4, 2009, as granted those branches of the motion of the defendant Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County, EC., which were for summary judgment dismissing the common-law negligence, Labor Law § 200, and Labor Law § 240 (1) causes of action, and so much of the Labor Law § 241 (6) cause of action as was predicated on an alleged violation of 12 NYCRR 23-2.1 (b) insofar as asserted against that defendant, and denied his cross motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the Labor Law § 240 (1) cause of action insofar as asserted against that defendant, and the defendant Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County, EC., cross-appeals, as limited by its brief, from so much of the same order as denied that branch of its motion which was for summary judgment dismissing so much of the Labor Law § 241 (6) cause of action as was predicated on alleged violations of 12 NYCRR 23-1.20 and 23-3.3 insofar as asserted against it.

Ordered that order is modified, on the law, (1) by deleting the provision thereof granting that branch of the motion +lnR rlR~ [1124]*1124fendant Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County, EC., which was for summary judgment dismissing the Labor Law § 240 (1) cause of action insofar as asserted against it, and substituting therefor a provision denying that branch of the motion, (2) by deleting the provision thereof denying that branch of the plaintiffs cross motion which was for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the Labor Law § 240 (1) cause of action insofar as asserted against the defendant Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County, EC., and substituting therefor a provision granting that branch of the cross motion, and (3) by deleting the provision thereof denying that branch of the motion of the defendant Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County, EC., which was for summary judgment dismissing so much of the Labor Law § 241 (6) cause of action as was predicated on violations of 12 NYCRR 23-1.20 and 23-3.3 insofar as asserted against it, and substituting therefor a provision granting that branch of the motion; as so modified, the order is affirmed insofar as appealed and cross-appealed from, with one bill of costs to the plaintiff.

In August 2004 the plaintiff was working as a carpenter on a project involving renovation of office space for the lessee of that space, the defendant Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County, EC. (hereinafter the defendant). The plaintiff alleged that debris, including metal studs 10 to 12 feet long, were thrown down a chute from the fourth floor of the subject building, and that he was responsible for unclogging the bottom of the chute on the ground floor. He further alleged that he was injured when, while clearing the chute, he was struck on the hand and lower arm by one of those metal studs that had either been (a) deposited into the chute on the fourth floor and fell down the interior of the chute before striking him as he worked on the ground floor, (b) deposited into the chute on the fourth floor, and became blocked by a stud lodged near the bottom of the chute, but again began to fall when the plaintiff dislodged the lower stud, or (c) lodged near the bottom of the chute, but had become dislodged when another metal stud fell several stories down the interior of the chute and struck it. He commenced this action against, among others, the defendant, alleging common-law negligence and violations of Labor Law §§ 200, 240 (1) and § 241 (6). The defendant moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against it, and the plaintiff cross-moved for summary judgment on the issue of liability against the defendant on the Labor Law § 240 (1) cause of action. The Supreme Court granted those branches of the defendant’s motion which were for summary judgment dismissing '•he common-law negligence, Labor Law § 200, and Labor Law 240 (1) causes of action insofar as asserted against it, and so [1125]*1125much of the Labor Law § 241 (6) cause of action as was predicated on a violation of 12 NYCRR 23-2.1 (b) insofar as asserted against it. The Supreme Court, however, denied that branch of the defendant’s motion which was for summary judgment dismissing so much of the Labor Law § 241 (6) cause of action as was predicated on violations of 12 NYCRR 23-1.20 and 23-3.3 insofar as asserted against it. The Supreme Court also denied the plaintiffs cross motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the Labor Law § 240 (1) cause of action insofar as asserted against the defendant. The plaintiff appeals and the defendant cross-appeals from those portions of the order which were adverse to them. We modify.

Labor Law § 200 codifies the common-law duty imposed upon an owner or general contractor to provide construction and demolition workers with a safe place to work (see Russin v Louis N. Picciano & Son, 54 NY2d 311, 316-317 [1981]). When a plaintiffs claims relate to the means and methods of the work, an owner may not he held liable under Labor Law § 200 unless it had the authority to supervise or control the performance of the work (see Ortega v Puccia, 57 AD3d 54, 61 [2008]). General supervisory authority for the purpose of overseeing the progress of the work is insufficient to impose liability under the statute (id. at 62). An owner has the authority to supervise or control the work for purposes of the statute when it is responsible for the manner in which the work is performed (id.). Here, the defendant established, prima facie, that it did not have the authority to control the means or methods by which the plaintiff performed his work (see Enos v Werlatone, Inc., 68 AD3d 712, 713 [2009]). In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact (see Ortega v Puccia, 57 AD3d at 63). Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted that branch of the defendant’s motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the Labor Law § 200 and common-law negligence causes of action insofar as asserted against it (id.; see Cooper v State of New York, 72 AD3d 633, 635 [2010]).

“Labor Law § 241 (6) imposes a nondelegable duty upon owners and contractors to provide reasonable and adequate protection and safety to construction workers ... In order to recover damages on a cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 241 (6), a plaintiff must establish the violation of an Industrial Code provision which sets forth specific safety standards” (Hricus v Aurora Contrs., Inc., 63 AD3d 1004, 1005 [2009] [internal quotation marks omitted]). To establish liability under Labor Law § 241 (6), a plaintiff must demonstrate that his injuries were proximately caused by a violation of an Industrial Code [1126]*1126provision “mandating compliance with concrete specifications” (Ross v Curtis-Palmer Hydro-Elec. Co., 81 NY2d 494, 505 [1993]; see Mercado v TPT Brooklyn Assoc., LLC, 38 AD3d 732, 734 [2007]). Here, the plaintiff alleged violations of 12 NYCRR 23-2.1 (b), 23-3.3 and 23-1.20. The Supreme Court properly held that the defendant was entitled to summary judgment dismissing so much of the Labor Law § 241 (6) cause of action as was predicated on a violation of 12 NYCRR 23-2.1 (b) because that provision is too general, and not a sufficiently specific directive necessary to support a cause of action under Labor Law § 241 (6) (see Madir v 21-23 Maiden Lane Realty, LLC, 9 AD3d 450, 452 [2004]; Salinas v Barney Skanska Constr. Co., 2 AD3d 619, 622 [2003]).

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Bluebook (online)
78 A.D.3d 1123, 912 N.Y.S.2d 611, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/la-veglia-v-st-francis-hospital-nyappdiv-2010.