Labor Law Defendants Across New York Dare to Hope Again
In a recent decision, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the portions of a Supreme Court, Queens County decision that denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment as to his Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action.
In Yi Jian Pai v. Nelson Senior Hous. Dev. Fund Corp., 2024 NY Slip Op 05816, plaintiff was examining a recently installed fire sprinkler system when the A-frame ladder upon which he was standing fell from under him, causing him to fall and strike his head on the cement floor. At his deposition, plaintiff testified that he was alone in the boiler room, standing on the third rung from the top of the ladder and spraying soapy water onto the sprinkler pipes to check for leaks, when the ladder unexpectedly “collapsed,” causing him to fall.
In opposition to plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, the defendant offered testimony from an employee who was near the boiler room when the incident occurred. According to that testimony, the defendant’s employee heard a “big boom” and that, when entered the boiler room, he observed the injured plaintiff on the floor and the ladder in an upright position. The owner observed that an elbow joint pipe, which reportedly had been connected to an air-pressurized sprinkler system, was now several feet away, wedged between the wall and a pipe, and that white smoke was spewing from the pipe.
In its decision, the Second Department agreed with the lower Court’s finding plaintiff met his prima facie burden as to his Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action by submitting deposition testimony that demonstrated that the ladder collapsed for no apparent reason. However, in opposition, the defendant raised a triable issue of fact as to whether the ladder was defective or unsecured.
Following the epidemic of Sudden Moving Ladder Syndrome has been an endeavor to say the least. Now, it appears that the Second Department has given Labor Law defendants across New York hope that every time someone falls off of a ladder, it will not automatically result in summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff. We’re sure this case will be cited to in every fact pattern where plaintiff falls off of a ladder, but the ladder does not fall over, resulting in a question of fact as to whether the safety device, the ladder, failed.
The Yi Jian Pai decision can be found here.
For additional information, contact Philip D. Priore, Esq. and/or Michael J. Shields, Esq.
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