In a decision dated April 18, 2012, Justice Roy S. Mahon granted defendant Eastport Home & Land Company’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint sounding in common law negligence and violations of Labor Law §§200, 240(1), 241(6). This action arises out of the personal injuries allegedly sustained by the plaintiff on March 3, 2005, at approximately 2:30 p.m., while he was working as a prefabricated stair installer. The plaintiff and a co-worker were carrying a set of prefabricated stairs to one of the condominium units being constructed at a condominium complex under development. The plaintiff was walking backwards when he allegedly tripped over a PVC pipe that was buried in the ground. Regarding the common law negligence and Labor Law §200 causes of action, the Court determined that this case involved the condition of the premises so the plaintiff was required to prove that the defendant had either created the dangerous condition (i.e. an exposed piece of buried PVC pipe) or had actual or constructive notice of it. The Court determined that the defendant established that it did not create the dangerous condition and further that it did not have notice, actual or constructive, of the specific condition that injured the plaintiff. According to the Court, the plaintiff was unable to refute the defendant’s arguments with proof in admissible form. The Court also dismissed the plaintiff’s Labor Law §240(1) cause of action because the plaintiff’s accident did not involve an elevation-related risk or the effects of gravity. Regarding the plaintiff’s Labor Law §241(6) cause of action, the Court determined that none of the Industrial Code Rules cited by the plaintiff were supported by the record. In light of the foregoing, the Court granted the defendant’s motions for summary judgment and dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint in its entirety.

McCullough v. L.P. Stair & Rail, Inc. et al., Index No.: 16458/07 (Nassau Co. Sup. Ct., April 18, 2012)