QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THE TWO BY FOUR PLAINTIFF TRIPPED OVER WAS DEBRIS, WHICH WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIABLE LABOR LAW 241(6) CAUSE OF ACTION, OR PART OF A SAFETY BARRICADE, WHICH WOULD NOT (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department determined there was a question of fact whether the two by four plaintiff tripped over was debris, which would constitute a viable Labor Law 241(6) cause of action, or part of a safety barricade, which would not:

Plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment on the Labor Law § 241(6) claim based on Industrial Code (12 NYCRR) § 23-1.7(e)(2) should be denied. This Industrial Code provision requires work areas to be kept free of debris and scattered tools and materials “insofar as may be consistent with the work being performed,” and thus is not violated when the condition that caused the plaintiff to trip or slip was integral to the work being performed, such as the presence of materials placed in the work area intentionally …. The staircase that plaintiff was approaching was installed by the ironworkers, and there is testimony that it was not opened for use until days after plaintiff’s accident. Plaintiff acknowledged that the staircase had not been completed at the time of his accident, that a barricade remained in place around three sides of the opening in the floor, and that an ironworker was working on the fourth side at the top of the stairs where the barricade had been removed. Under the circumstances, issues of fact exist as to whether the two-by-four over which plaintiff tripped was part of the barricade blocking the staircase opening in the floor and therefore integral to the work at the time of his accident, even if the barricade had been pulled back or removed from the front of the stairs where an iron worker was working … . Rudnitsky v Macy’s Real Estate, LLC, 2020 NY Slip Op 07325, First Dept 12-8-20