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LABOR LAW 200 CAUSE OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER DEFENDANT EXERCISED SUFFICIENT CONTROL OVER THE MEANS AND METHODS OF PLAINTIFF’S WORK (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s Labor Law 200 cause of action should not have been dismissed as there was a question of fact whether defendant (Plaza) had the authority to control the means and methods of plaintiff’s work at the site. The scaffold on which plaintiff was standing tipped when a wheel went into a space in the floor created by the removal of a tile by an electrical contractor who was installing wiring beneath the floor:

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Where, as here, a claim arises out of the means and methods of the work, a defendant may be held liable for common-law negligence or a violation of Labor Law § 200 “only if he or she had the authority to supervise or control the performance of the work'” … . “A defendant has the authority to supervise or control the work for purposes of Labor Law § 200 when that defendant bears the responsibility for the manner in which the work is performed” … .

Here, the defendants failed to establish, prima facie, that Plaza did not have the authority to exercise supervision and control over the subject work. The defendants’ submissions demonstrated that Plaza, as the construction manager, had a project superintendent at the work site on a daily basis who was responsible for job coordination and safety supervision. Plaza had the authority to stop work if a particular activity or condition was unsafe, and to regulate which workers and equipment were allowed in particular areas of the work site. Moreover, Plaza’s project superintendent held weekly meetings with every subcontractor. Although the superintendent testified at his deposition that he gave directions to the subcontractors’ supervisors, rather than to the workers themselves, he could tell a supervisor to immediately relay a safety-related instruction to a worker at any given time. Under these circumstances, the defendants’ submissions failed to eliminate all triable issues of fact as to whether Plaza was acting as the general contractor and had the authority to supervise and control the manner in which the plaintiff performed his work … . Caban v Plaza Constr. Corp., 2017 NY Slip Op 05931, Second Dept 8-2-17

 

LABOR LAW-CONSTRUCTION LAW (LABOR LAW 200 CAUSE OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER DEFENDANT EXERCISED SUFFICIENT CONTROL OVER THE MEANS AND METHODS OF PLAINTIFF’S WORK (SECOND DEPT))/MEANS AND METHODS OF WORK (LABOR LAW-CONSTRUCTION LAW, LABOR LAW 200 CAUSE OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER DEFENDANT EXERCISED SUFFICIENT CONTROL OVER THE MEANS AND METHODS OF PLAINTIFF’S WORK (SECOND DEPT))

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