The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined an action by the administrator of a Workers’ Compensation Law self-insurance trust [GSIT] against employers who ceased to fund the trust should not have been dismissed:
“Under CPLR 3211 (a) (1), a dismissal is warranted only if the documentary evidence submitted conclusively establishes a defense to the asserted claims as a matter of law” … . [W]e agree with plaintiff that the documentary evidence submitted by defendants does not conclusively establish, as a matter of law, that defendants have no contractual liability to pay the assessments at issue. * * *
[T]he record establishes that in 1998 defendants and other contractors that were involved in the construction industry and subject to the Workers’ Compensation Law with respect to their employees established the GSIT in order to comply with the law and provide workers’ compensation benefits to their employees. Thereafter, all defendants made contributions and participated in the GSIT for varying periods of time, and there is no dispute that, by the end of the 2009 fiscal year, all defendants had ceased making contributions to the GSIT. NCA Comp, Inc. v 1289 Clifford Ave., 2017 NY Slip Op 04575, 4th Dept 6-9-17
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW (SELF-INSURANCE TRUST, ACTION SEEKING PAYMENT OF ASSESSMENTS FOR A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW SELF-INSURANCE TRUST SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED)/TRUSTS (WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW, SELF-INSURANCE TRUST, ACTION SEEKING PAYMENT OF ASSESSMENTS FOR A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW SELF-INSURANCE TRUST SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED)