Firm News

We are pleased to welcome our newest valued client, The Related Companies, which is the largest owner of luxury residential rental properties in New York.

Stephen M. Cohen and Thomas J. Hall lectured at a seminar for Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance entitled “New York Labor Law §§200, 240(1) and 241(6),” in New York, New York.

Court Grants Contractor Summary Judgment Dismissing Third-Party Complaint In Its Entirety

In a decision dated February 4, 2015, Justice Carmen Velasquez granted the summary judgment motion of our client, Sordoni Skanska, dismissing RCN Telecom Service’s Inc.’s third-party complaint in its entirety. The underlying plaintiff sought damages for personal injuries sustained when she fell in the crosswalk of Roosevelt Avenue and Parsons Boulevard in Queens, New York. She sued RCN, which in turn, impleaded Sordoni. The plaintiff did not have any claims against Sordoni. In dismissing the third-party complaint against Sordoni, the Court found that Sordoni did not have notice of the alleged defective condition nor did it retain control over the roadway or have a contractual duty to maintain and repair it. Thus, Sordoni could not be found liable.

Chow v. RCN, et al., Index No. 8839/2009 (Queens Co. Sup. Ct., Feb. 4, 2015)

Court Grants Abutting Sidewalk Owner Summary Judgment Dismissing Plaintiff’s Complaint In Its Entirety

In an appellate decision dated May 19, 2015, the First Department unanimously overturned a Supreme Court, Bronx County order that denied our client’s summary judgment motion and dismissed plaintiff’s complaint in its entirety. Plaintiff allegedly fell in a sinkhole surrounding a fire hydrant in front of our client’s apartment building. The City was in the process of repairing the hydrant and the surrounding sidewalk and left a temporary blacktop in place of the concrete that had surrounded the hydrant. In reversing and dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint, the Appellate Division found that because the City was performing work on the fire hydrant, which work entailed placing blacktop on the surrounding sidewalk, it exercised control over that area during the pendency of its work, to the exclusion of the owners. Thus, the Administrative Code requirement that our client maintain the sidewalk did not serve as a predicate for liability under the circumstances of this case.

Arzeno v. City of New York, Anvernic LLC, et al., 128 A.D.3d 527, 10 N.Y.S.3d 198 (1st Dep’t 2015)

We are pleased to welcome our newest valued client, Lightstone Group, LLC, which is one of the largest and most diversified privately held real estate companies in the United States.

Kenneth J. Gormley lectured at a seminar for LSG Sky Chefs entitled “New York Construction Legal Environment,” in Irving, Texas.

Employer’s Liability Insurer Has No Obligation to Defend Third-Party Action In the Absence of A Grave Injury

In a decision dated March 16, 2015, Hon. Shlomo Hagler declared that our client, Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania (“ICOP”), is not obligated to defend or indemnify its insured Barrana Construction Corp. as a third-party defendant in a personal injury action brought under New York’s Labor Law. The injured worker sued the owner of the premises, L.C. Driggs Corp., which in turn brought a third-party action for common law indemnification against Barrana. ICOP first learned of the action when a default judgment was taken against Barrana. ICOP assigned counsel to attempt to get the default vacated while it investigated the loss. When the default was upheld, ICOP disclaimed on late notice grounds as well there being no coverage for the third-party claim in the absence of an allegation of a grave injury. After issue was joined by L.C. Driggs, ICOP moved for summary judgment. L.C. Driggs opposed on the grounds that the issue was not ripe for determination because there was no money judgment against Barrana. Judge Hagler held that ICOP need not wait for the entire underlying action to proceed in order to obtain a declaration of its rights and obligations. He granted ICOP’s motion and declared that ICOP has no obligation to defend or indemnify Barrana in the underlying action.

Ins. Co. of the State of Pa. v. Barrana Constr. Corp. et al., Index No. 650576/13 (N.Y. Co. Sup. Ct. March 16, 2015)

Court Grants Defendant Contractor Summary Judgment Dismissing Plaintiff’s Complaint and All Cross-Claims

In a decision dated January 20, 2015, Justice Paul Wooten granted our client Owen Steel Company Inc.’s motion for summary judgment which sought a dismissal of the plaintiff’s complaint including those causes of action for common law negligence and violations of Labor Law §§200, 240(1) and 241(6). The plaintiff was an iron worker who allegedly fell off the side of a pickup truck while performing work for his employer, P.I.I. LLC, in connection with the John Jay College Expansion Project. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, the owner of the premises, hired multiple prime contractors, including Sea Crest Construction Corp., for general contracting services, and Owen for miscellaneous iron work. Owen subcontracted the iron work to Hillside Ironworks, which then hired plaintiff’s employer, P.I.I., to provide the actual labor for the work. The Court held that the Labor Law §240 cause of action should be dismissed for several reasons. First, it found that plaintiff’s own negligence was the sole proximate cause of his accident. It also found §240(1) was not applicable because plaintiff’s fall from the side of a utility truck while loading a ladder onto it was not an elevation-related risk. Additionally, the Court found the plaintiff failed to establish that the circumstances at the time of his accident warranted the protection of the type of safety equipment enumerated in the statute. Finally, the Court held that §240(1) was not applicable because a gravity-related hazard was not created when another ladder that had already been loaded and bungee-corded to the truck slid horizontally and struck the plaintiff in his chest after he untied the bungee cord. The Court dismissed plaintiff’s Labor Law §241(6) claim because the Industrial Code Rule relied on by him, 12 NYCRR 23-1.7(e) (“Tripping and other hazards”), was not applicable because his accident did not involve a trip. The Court also held that Labor Law §241(6) was inapplicable because plaintiff was not engaged in an enumerated activity inasmuch as he was merely loading ladders onto a truck to deliver them to another job site. Plaintiff’s common law negligence and Labor Law §200 claims were dismissed against the owner and construction manager because they did not supervise or control the plaintiff’s loading of the ladders onto the truck and did not have actual or constructive notice of a debris condition which plaintiff claimed caused the accident. The Court also held that the debris condition did not cause the accident. In addition, all claims for contractual indemnification, common law indemnification, contribution and breach of contract to procure insurance against Owen were dismissed.

Guido v. The Dormitory Auth. of the State of N.Y., Index No. 113126/10 (N.Y. Co. Sup. Ct., Jan. 20, 2015)

Court Dismisses Negligence Action Against Defendants

In a decision dated December 3, 2014, Justice Sidney A. Strauss granted the summary judgment motion of Skanska Koch, Inc. and Koch Skanska, Inc. dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint against them sounding in common law negligence. The plaintiff sought damages for personal injuries sustained when the metal railing of an access platform adjacent to an office trailer collapsed as he was leaning on it causing him to fall. The trailer had been placed at the site as part of a project that Skanska Koch, Inc. performed at the site. When the project was completed, the trailer had been donated to the New York City Parks & Recreation Department on April 1, 2010, more than a month prior to the accident. In dismissing the complaint, the Court found that neither Skanska entity had notice or knowledge of the alleged defective condition, retained control over the premises nor had a contractual duty to maintain and repair the premises. Thus, neither entity could be found liable for it.

Brown v. Skanska Koch, et al., Index No. 6462/2012 (Queens Co. Sup. Ct., Dec. 3, 2014)

We are pleased to announce that Kenneth J. Gormley has joined the Firm as a Partner.

Kenneth’s attorney page.