PLAINTIFF DEMONSTRATED THE SCAFFOLD FROM WHICH HE FELL DID NOT HAVE GUARDRAILS; HIS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE LABOR LAW 240(1) CAUSE OF ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff in this scaffold-fall case was entitled to summary judgment on the Labor Law 240(1) cause of action. Plaintiff demonstrated the scaffold lacked guardrails. That was enough:
Plaintiff … established prima facie that defendant violated Labor Law § 240(1) and that the violation proximately caused his injuries, as his uncontroverted affidavit demonstrated that the scaffold supplied to him for the work he was performing lacked guardrails and that no other protective devices were provided to protect him from falling. The motion was not premature as defendants failed to show what discovery was needed or what any additional discovery could be expected to reveal (see CPLR 3212 [f] …). Velasquez v 94 E. 208 St. Partners LLC, 2023 NY Slip Op 05110, First Dept 10-10-23
Practice Point: Here, falling from a scaffold with no guardrails warranted summary judgment on the Labor Law 240(1) cause of action.