In a decision dated September 8, 2026, the Honorable Linda J. Kevins of Supreme Court, Suffolk County denied plaintiff’s motion on his Labor Law §240(1) cause of action, denied third-party defendant, Bancker Construction Corp.’s motion to dismiss our client Suffolk County Water Authority’s contractual indemnification claim and granted SCWA’s motions to dismiss plaintiff’s Labor Law §200 and common law negligence causes of action and SCWA’s claim for contractual indemnification from Bancker. The plaintiff, an employee of Bancker, was allegedly struck by a ductile pipe he estimated weighed 1,500 to 2,000 pounds. We successfully established triable issues of fact regarding whether the accident involved a gravity-related risk under Labor Law §240(1) based on the argument that the activity which plaintiff was performing at the time of his accident, unloading a bundle of steel beams from a truck, was not protected by Labor Law §240(1). We also argued that the pipes in question rolled toward the plaintiff rather than fell, which is not actionable under Labor Law §240(1). The court also granted SCWA’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s Labor Law §200 and common-law negligence claims because it did not supervise and control the plaintiff’s work.  The court denied Bancker’s motion to dismiss SCWA’s contractual indemnification claim, and granted SCWA summary judgment on its own claim for contractual indemnification from Bancker based upon a “resulting from” trigger in the contract between SCWA and Bancker. 

Justin Pastore v. Suffolk County Water Authority, Index No. 627418/2023 (Sup. Ct., Suffolk Co., Sept. 8, 2026)