Samantha Perlowitz Achieves Summary Judgement on Behalf of BMM Client

Congratulations to Samantha Perlowitz, Esq. for her excellent, prevailing argument of the firm’s motion for summary judgment on behalf of our client, the third-party defendant employer in a Labor Law matter.

The plaintiff-employee claimed he had fallen from a ladder after it became unstable, causing him to lose his balance, when he had been shaking a “stuck” Sawzall while attempting to remove a 9’ section of pipe, located approximately 9’ from the floor. He testified that he had been directed to do so by an unidentified individual on the job site by the name of “Walter.” We had no employees by that name on the job.

The decision of the Hon. Aaron D. Maslow of the Supreme Court, Kings County, notes the employer could not be held liable for common law indemnification as there was no evidence propounded to establish its negligence. The employer was not responsible for the means and methods of the injury-producing work, since no one from the company had instructed or directed the plaintiff to cut any pipes or perform any plumbing on the job. The third-party defendant was not even tasked with performing work where the accident occurred.

The contractual claims of third-party plaintiffs were similarly dismissed. Judge Maslow noted that the contract only provided for indemnification arising out of the work covered by the contract “to the extent the work was performed by or contracted for…” and that the insurance procurement provisions only would have protected third-party plaintiffs for claims arising out of, or resulting from, the insured’s work. Here, since the plaintiff was engaged in work that fell outside the scope of the contract, the indemnification and insurance clauses were held inapplicable to the instant matter.

As there were no material issues of fact remaining for a jury to determine, our motion was granted, and the third-party action is now dismissed.