First Department Rejects Defendants’ Pipe Dreams of Reversal
In a recent decision, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed a Supreme Court, Bronx County decision that granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment as to his Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action.
In Rivera v. 454 W. 57th St. Holding LLC, 2025 NY Slip Op 01328, plaintiff alleged that as he and his coworkers were replacing a drainpipe at a building owned by the defendants when a section of the drainpipe allegedly fell and struck plaintiff in the face. Plaintiff testified that sections of the pipe that had previously been installed on the project were connected to each other with coupling and screws, and the piping was attached to the walls of the building with metal hooks hammered into the wall. Plaintiff was injured when the devices securing the piping failed.
In a unanimous decision, the First Department upheld the lower Court’s order, noting that plaintiff established his prima facie entitlement to summary judgment as a matter of law by showing that the pipe “required securing for the purposes of the undertaking” and that the screws and metal hooks used to secure the piping to the wall were inadequate safety devices. The First Department rejected the defendants’ contentions that plaintiff could not show why the pipe fell on him as he is not required to show the exact circumstances of how the pipe came to strike him.
Another First Department case reminding us that plaintiff needs strikingly little detail when making a prima facie showing of entitlement to summary judgment in a Labor Law § 240(1) case. In most cases “I don’t know how the accident happened, only that it did happen” is still enough for summary judgment.
The Rivera decision can be found here.
For additional information, contact Philip D. Priore, Esq. and/or Michael J. Shields, Esq.
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