DEFENDANTS DEMONSTRATED (1) THE PROTRUDING PIPE OVER WHICH PLAINTIFF TRIPPED WAS OPEN AND OBVIOUS AND NOT INHERENTLY DANGEROUS, (2) THEY DID NOT EXERCISE SUPERVISORY CONTROL OVER PLAINTIFF’S WORK, AND (3) THE INDUSTRIAL CODE PROVISION PROHIBITING THE ACCUMULATION OF DEBRIS DID NOT APPLY; THE LABOR LAW 200 AND 241(6) CAUSES OF ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the defendants’ motion for summary judgment on the Labor Law 200 and 241(6) causes of action should have been granted. Plaintiff, while pouring a concrete floor, tripped over a drainage pipe which had been covered by a blanket to protect it from the concrete. The defendants demonstrated: (1) the pipe was open and obvious and not inherently dangerous; (2) they did not exercise supervisory control over plaintiff’s work; and (3), the Industrial Code provision which addresses accumulation of debris did not apply:

… [T]he defendants met their prima facie burden of demonstrating both that the allegedly dangerous condition was open and obvious and not inherently dangerous, and that they lacked the authority to supervise or control the plaintiff’s work. …

… [T]he defendants demonstrated that 12 NYCRR 23-1.7(e)(2) is inapplicable because the protruding drainage pipe over which the plaintiff allegedly fell was a permanent and an integral part of what was being constructed … . Sanchez v BBL Constr. Servs., LLC, 2022 NY Slip Op 00890, Second Dept 2-9-22