The Second Department held that a three-foot fall from a skid-steer step was outside Labor Law § 240(1), while negligence and an illumination-based § 241(6) theory survived.
The Second Department reinstated Labor Law § 200 and negligence claims because the construction manager failed to negate supervisory control or constructive notice of a defective delivery gate.
The Second Department held that a homeowner waiver lacked unmistakable negligence language and could not override the Scaffold Law’s nondelegable safety duty.
The Second Department held that the Scaffold Law’s homeowner exemption covered ladder work on a barn that functioned as an extension of a residence and served a substantially residential purpose.
Second Department affirms denial of property owners’ motion to dismiss Labor Law § 240(1) and § 241(6) claims arising from worker’s elevation-related injury during renovation — Scaffold Law claims survive CPLR 3211 and must be addressed through discovery.
Second Department reverses § 240(1) summary judgment where worker struck by unknown object from upper scaffold: plaintiff must identify the object and show it was being hoisted or required securing.
Second Department affirms Labor Law § 240(1) liability where worker was directed to climb a seven-foot stack of doors without a ladder, and upholds CPLR 3126 preclusion of an undisclosed defense witness.
The Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed denial of a CPLR 3211 motion to dismiss, holding that a pre-litigation covenant not to sue did not “clearly and unequivocally” release the defendant from its own negligence and therefore could not bar the plaintiff’s Labor Law §§ 200, 240(1), and 241(6) claims.
The Appellate Division, Second Department reversed a plaintiff’s Labor Law § 240(1) summary judgment after defendants raised a triable issue of fact on the sole-proximate-cause defense, showing that a six-foot ladder was available but that the carpenter chose to use scissor clamps on a cement column instead.