BMM Wins Appellate Victory in Labor Law Case

In a labor law case against our clients, the owner and general contractor of a job site, Partner Patrick Kenny was granted summary judgment and plaintiff’s Labor Law 240(1) and Labor Law 241(6) causes of action were dismissed. Plaintiff appealed the decision. Patrick then argued the case on appeal before the Appellate Division, First Department. The First Department dismissed plaintiff’s remaining common law negligence and Labor Law 200 claims following argument.

In this case, plaintiff tripped and fell after stepping over cross bracing in scaffolding to walk from one part of a job site to another, even though he testified he was aware of openings in the scaffolding for him. Moreover, there was nothing defective, broken or otherwise wrong with the scaffold itself and it did not shift when plaintiff tripped on it. The First Department found that the cross bracing was not inherently dangerous and that plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of his fall. They reasoned that as a result, plaintiff’s remaining claims failed as a matter of law.

This was an excellent result for BMM’s clients. It demonstrates that not every accident at a construction site in New York City is actionable.