DEFENDANT CON EDISION EXERCISED SUFFICIENT CONTROL OVER THE MANNER OF PLAINTIFF’S WORK TO SUPPORT THE LABOR LAW 200 VERDICT, MOTION TO SET ASIDE THE VERDICT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED.
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, over an extensive dissent, determined defendant Con Edison’s motion to set aside the verdict in this asbestos-injury case should not have been granted. Con Edison was deemed to have sufficient control over the manner of plaintiff’s work (applying concrete mixed with asbestos) to support the Labor Law 200 cause of action:
The evidence at trial demonstrated that Con Edison had the “authority to control the activity bringing about the injury” … . “[A]n implicit precondition to this duty is that the party to be charged with that obligation have the authority to control the activity bringing about the injury to enable it to avoid or correct an unsafe condition” … . * * *
Con Edison had the ability to prevent the hazard ultimately causing the plaintiff’s injury, namely, the application of asbestos-containing materials. Indeed, Con Edison’s specifications affirmatively required the use of hazardous asbestos-containing insulation materials, and Con Edison monitored work for compliance with those specifications. Matter of New York Asbestos Litig., 2017 NY Slip Op 00098, 1st Dept 1-10-17
LABOR LAW-CONSTRUCTION LAW (DEFENDANT CON EDISION EXERCISED SUFFICIENT CONTROL OVER THE MANNER OF PLAINTIFF’S WORK TO SUPPORT THE LABOR LAW 200 VERDICT, MOTION TO SET ASIDE THE VERDICT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DENIED)