Losurdo v. Tutor Perini Corp.

2026 NY Slip Op 30888(U)
CourtNew York Supreme Court, New York County
DecidedMarch 9, 2026
DocketIndex No. 151318/2021
StatusUnpublished
AuthorJames G. Clynes

This text of 2026 NY Slip Op 30888(U) (Losurdo v. Tutor Perini 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
Losurdo v. Tutor Perini Corp., 2026 NY Slip Op 30888(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2026).

Opinion

Losurdo v Tutor Perini Corp. 2026 NY Slip Op 30888(U) March 9, 2026 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 151318/2021 Judge: James G. Clynes 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.

file:///LRB-ALB-FS1/Vol1/ecourts/Process/covers/NYSUP.1513182021.NEW_YORK.001.LBLX036_TO.html[03/19/2026 3:45:53 PM] FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/11/2026 09:48 AM INDEX NO. 151318/2021 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 137 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/10/2026

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PRESENT: HON. JAMES G. CLYNES PART 39M Justice -------------------X INDEX NO. 151318/2021 ERIK LOSURDO, MOTION DATE 09/03/2024 Plaintiff, MOTION SEQ. NO. 004 - V -

TUTOR PERINI CORPORATION, MTA- LONG ISLAND RAILROAD DECISION + ORDER ON MOTION Defendant. --------------------X

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 004) 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92,93, 94,95, 96, 97,98,99, 100,101,102,103,104,105,106,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136 were read on this motion to/for JUDGMENT-SUMMARY Upon the foregoing documents, it is ordered that the defendants' motion and cross- motion by plaintiff are decided as follows.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff sues to recover damages for personal injuries he sustained June 16, 2020, when he fell into a hole in a railroad yard under construction while he was working on premises owned by defendant MTA - Long Island Railroad on a construction project in Long Island City for which defendant Tutor Perini Corporation was the general contractor. Plaintiff, an electrician employed by an electrical subcontractor on the project, nonparty Five Star Electric Corp., was standing a few feet from a hole that Tutor Perini had excavated and in which Five Star Electric or its subcontractor had planted two conduits. He was measuring wire to make an electrical connection, when the ground surrounding the hole gave way, causing him to fall with the collapsed ground into the hole.

Defendants jointly move for summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs claims that defendants violated New York Labor Law§§ 200, 240(1), and 241(6) and were negligent, causing his injury. C.P.L.R. § 3212(b). Plaintiff cross-moves for partial summary judgment on defendants' liability based on each of his claims. C.P.L.R. § 3212(b) and (e).

For the reasons explained below, the court grants defendants' motion to the extent of granting summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs claim that defendants violated Labor Law § 241(6), but otherwise denies their motion. C.P.L.R. § 3212(b) and (e). The court grants plaintiffs cross-motion for summary judgment on both defendants' liability for violation of

151318/2021 LOSURDO, ERIK vs. TUTOR PERINI CORPORATION ET AL Page 1 of8 Motion No. 004

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Labor Law § 240(1) and on Tutor Perini' s liability for negligence and for violation of Labor Law § 200, but otherwise denies his cross-motion. C.P.L.R. § 3212(b) and (e).

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARDS

To obtain summary judgment, the moving parties must present a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter oflaw, through admissible evidence eliminating all material issues of fact. Bill Birds. Inc. v. Stein Law Firm. P.C., 35 N.Y.3d 173, 179 (2020); Friends of Thayer Lake LLC v. Brown, 27 N.Y.3d 1039, 1043 (2016); Nomura Asset Capital Corp. v. Cadwalader. Wickersham & Taft LLP, 26 N.Y.3d 40, 49 (2015); Voss v. Netherlands Ins. Co., 22 N.Y.3d 728, 734 (2014). Only if the moving parties_meet that initial burden, does the burden shift to the non-moving parties to rebut that prima facie showing, by producing evidence, in admissible form, sufficient to require a trial of material factual issues. Bill Birds. Inc. v. Stein Law Firm. P.C., 35 N.Y.3d at 179; De Lourdes Torres v. Jones, 26 N.Y.3d 742, 763 (2016); Nomura Asset Capital Corp. v. Cadwalader. Wickersham & Taft LLP, 26 N.Y.3d at 49; Morales v. D & A Food Serv., 10 N.Y.3d 911,913 (2008). In evaluating the evidence for purposes of summary judgment, the court construes the evidence in the light most favorable to the non- moving parties. Stonehill Capital Mgt. LLC v. Bank of the W., 28 N.Y.3d 439,448 (2016); De Lourdes Torres v. Jones, 26 N.Y.3d at 763; William J. Jenack Estate Appraisers & Auctioneers. Inc. v. Rabizedeh, 22 N.Y.3d 470,475 (2013); Vega v. Restani Constr. Corp., 18 N.Y.3d 499, 503 (2012).

III. PLAINTIFF'S CLAIM BASED ON LABOR LAW§ 240(1)

Labor Law § 240(1) requires that all owners and general contractors of structures: in the erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting, cleaning or pointing of a building or structure shall furnish or erect or cause to be furnished or erected for the performance of such labor, scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys, braces, irons, ropes, and other devices which shall be so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper protection to a person so employed.

The statute imposes absolute liability on the owner and general contractor of a construction site if they fail to provide adequate protection against a gravity-related or elevation-related risk, and that failure is the proximate cause of plaintiff worker's injury. Nicometi v. Vineyards of Fredonia. LLC, 25 N.Y.3d 90, 97 (2015); Rivas v. Seward Park Hous. Corp.• 219 A.D.3d 59, 63 (1st Dep't 2023); Hogan v. 590 Madison Ave .• LLC, 194 A.D.3d 570,571 (1st Dep't 2021); Milligan v. Tutor Perini Corp.. 191 A.D.3d 437,437 (1st Dep't 2021).

Plaintiff claims defendants are liable under Labor Law § 240(1) because they admittedly provided no safety device to protect him from the ground around the hole giving way and to protect him from falling into the hole. Defendants maintain that they did not violate the statute primarily because plaintiffs fall was not a gravity-related or elevation-related risk, since Tutor Perini's witness, its project executive Dennis McNemey, testified at his deposition that the hole was only two feet deep.

151318/2021 LOSURDO, ERIK vs. TUTOR PERINI CORPORATION ET AL Page 2of8 Motion No. 004

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Defendants also suggest that plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of his fall and consequent injury, because he did not stand in the hole while performing his work or cover the hole after completing his work. No evidence, however, supports either contention. Plaintiff did not need to stand in the hole to measure wire or perform any other assigned work, nor was he instructed to do so. Demetria v. Clune Constr. Co., 176 A.D. 621, 622 (1st Dep't 2019). Likewise, he had not completed his work around the hole when he fell, and, even ifhe had, he was not provided any instruction or material with which to cover the hole.

Plaintiff testified at his deposition that the hole was five feet deep, so the court assumes for purposes of defendants' motion that the difference in elevation between the top of the hole and its bottom was two to five feet, but for purposes of plaintiffs cross-motion that the difference was only two feet.

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Bluebook (online)
2026 NY Slip Op 30888(U), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/losurdo-v-tutor-perini-corp-nysupctnewyork-2026.