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IN THIS LADDER-FALL CASE, DEFENDANT PROPERTY MANAGER DID NOT DEMONSTRATE A LACK OF CONTRUCTIVE NOTICE OF THE DANGEROUS CONDITION OR THAT IT LACKED CONTROL OVER THE WORK SITE; THE LABOR LAW 200 AND COMMON LAW NEGLIGENCE CAUSES OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED; IN ADDITION PLAINTIFF WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS LABOR LAW 240(1) CAUSE OF ACTION (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant property management company (Fulton) was not entitled to dismissal of the Labor Law 200 and common-law negligence causes of action and plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law 240(1) cause of action in this ladder-fall case. Plaintiff fell when a permanent ladder attached to the building came loose:

… [T]he Fulton defendants failed to establish … that they lacked actual or constructive notice of the allegedly dangerous condition of the ladder, which the plaintiff described in his deposition as rusty and old. The evidence the Fulton defendants submitted in support of their motion “did not eliminate triable issues of fact as to whether the allegedly dangerous condition of the [ladder] should have been discovered upon a reasonable inspection” … . Furthermore, the Fulton defendants failed to establish … that they lacked control over the work site … . * * *

“The collapse of a scaffold or ladder for no apparent reason while a plaintiff is engaged in an activity enumerated under the statute creates a presumption that the ladder or scaffold did not afford proper protection” … . Through the submission of his deposition testimony, the plaintiff established … that he was exposed to an elevation risk within the ambit of Labor Law § 240(1), that the ladder collapsed for no apparent reason, and that the inadequately secured ladder was a proximate cause of his injuries … .

… [I]n opposition … the … defendants … failed to present a plausible view of the evidence—enough to raise a triable issue of fact—that there was no statutory violation and that the plaintiff’s own acts or omissions were the sole cause of the accident … . Valentin v Stathakos, 2024 NY Slip Op 03512, Second Dept 6-26-24

Practice Point: Here the permanent ladder which came loose causing plaintiff’s fall was “old and rusty” which raised a question of fact whether the defendant property manager had constructive notice of the condition. The Labor Law 200 and common law negligence causes of action should not have been dismissed.

Practice Point: In the absence of evidence plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of the accident, the collapse of a ladder warrants summary judgment on a Labor Law 240(10 cause of action.

 

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