Second Department Defines the Bounds of the Labor Law
In a recent decision, the Appellate Division, Second Department modified a Supreme Court, Queens County Order that dismissed plaintiff’s common-law negligence cause of action, as well as plaintiff’s Labor Law §§ 200, 240(1) and 241(6) causes of action.
In Ramirez-Gomez v. Empire Today, LLC, 2025 NY Slip Op 01248, plaintiff alleged that while performing construction work at a property in New Jersey, that was owned and operated by the defendant, he was injured by a falling radiator at the subject site. We note at the outset that all parties are residents of New York State and have their principal place of business in New York State.
After discovery, the defendant moved for pursuant to C.P.L.R. § 3211(a)(7) to dismiss the Complaint in its entirety, arguing that the Labor Law violations and the common-law negligence cause of action should be dismissed because the subject incident occurred in New Jersey. In its decision, the Supreme Court, Queens County dismissed the Complaint, determining that the Complaint failed to state a cause of action because the accident occurred in New Jersey.
Plaintiff appealed the portions of the lower Court’s Order that dismissed the common-law negligence claim and the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed. In its decision, it cited to long-standing case law outlining that the extraordinary protections of the Labor Law do not apply to accidents that occur outside of New York, even if all parties are domiciled in New York, but that limitation on the Labor Law does not extend to common-law negligence claims that occur outside of New York and cannot be the basis for a dismissal of a common-law negligence claim.
It may sound very basic, but New York’s Labor Law does not apply to accidents that occur outside of New York.
The Rodriguez-Gomez decision can be found here.
For additional information, contact Philip D. Priore, Esq. and/or Michael J. Shields, Esq.
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