You are here: / / WITH RESPECT TO THE MANNER IN WHICH WORK IS PERFORMED, A GENERAL CONTRACTOR’S...
, ,

WITH RESPECT TO THE MANNER IN WHICH WORK IS PERFORMED, A GENERAL CONTRACTOR’S LIABILITY UNDER LABOR LAW 200 AND COMMON-LAW NEGLIGENCE STEMS FROM THE EXERCISE OF SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY; INFORMING THE WORKER OF WHAT WORK SHOULD BE DONE, MONITORING THE TIME AND QUALITY OF THE WORK, ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH SAFETY REGULATIONS, AND HAVING THE AUTHORITY TO STOP WORK FOR SAFETY REASONS, DO NOT AMOUNT TO THE EXERCISE OF “SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY” (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that defendant general contractor’s motion for summary judgment on the Labor Law 200 and common-law negligence causes of action should have been granted because defendant did not exercise supervisory authority over plaintiff’s work. The Fourth Department took pains to describe what does not constitute the exercise of supervisory authority:

… [T]he court erred in denying defendant’s motion with respect to the portions of plaintiff’s Labor Law § 200 and common-law negligence causes of action alleging negligence in the manner in which work was performed. It is well settled that ” ‘[w]here the alleged defect or dangerous condition arises from the contractor’s methods and the [defendant] exercises no supervisory control over the operation, no liability attaches to the [defendant] under the common law or under Labor Law § 200’ ” … .

Here, defendant established as a matter of law that it ” ‘did not actually direct or control’ ” the work [plaintiff was hired to do.] Contrary to plaintiff’s assertion, ” ‘[t]here is no direction or control if the [general contractor merely] informs the worker what work should be performed . . . [;] there is direction and control [only where the general contractor] specifies how that work should be performed’ ” … . “Similarly, ‘a general duty to ensure compliance with safety regulations or the authority to stop work for safety reasons’ ” … , or even the ” ‘monitoring and oversight of the timing and quality of the work’ ” … are insufficient to raise a triable issue of fact whether defendant exercised direction and control over the manner of plaintiff’s work. Szlapak v The L.C. Whitford, Co., Inc., 2025 NY Slip Op 05385, Fourth Dept 10-3-25

Practice Point: Informing a worker of what work is to be done, monitoring the time and quality of the work, ensuring compliance with safety regulations, having the authority to stop work for safety reasons, do not constitute the “the exercise of supervisory authority” such that a general contractor can be liable under Labor Law 200 and common-law negligence for the manner in which the work was done.

 

You might also like
PLAINTIFF’S SUBMISSIONS RAISED A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THE ORAL AGREEMENT THAT DEFENDANT WOULD BUY PLAINTIFF’S HOUSE FOR $40,000, OTHERWISE VOID UNDER THE STATUTE OF FRAUDS, WAS ENFORCEABLE BECAUSE IT WAS PARTIALLY PERFORMED (FOURTH DEPT).
FALSE ARREST AND MALICIOUS PROSECUTION ACTIONS AGAINST THE RESTAURANT FRANCHISOR PROPERLY DISMISSED IN THE ABSENCE OF EVIDENCE OF CONTROL OVER THE DAY TO DAY OPERATION OF THE RESTAURANT (FOURTH DEPT).
Juvenile Delinquency Petition Jurisdictionally Defective; Insufficient Allegations that Pills Were a Controlled Substance
NO DEMONSTRATION A PARTICULAR INTERPRETATION OF AN AMBIGUOUS CONTRACT WAS THE ONLY FAIR INTERPRETATION; THEREFORE MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT WERE PROPERLY DENIED.
THE SORA HEARING JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE GRANTED AN UPWARD DEPARTURE, INCREASING DEFENDANT’S SORA RISK LEVEL, BASED ON INFORMATION WHICH WAS NOT IN THE RISK ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT (RAI) OR RAISED BY THE PEOPLE AT THE HEARING; TO DO SO VIOLATED DEFENDANT’S RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS (FOURTH DEPT).
SUPREME COURT WENT BEYOND THE PARAMETERS OF THE REMITTAL BY ACCEPTING SUPPLEMENTAL ARGUMENTS ON NEW CASE LAW AND BY RENDERING A DECISION ON GROUNDS NOT INCLUDED IN THE REMITTAL; DISMISSAL OF THE COMPLAINT REVERSED, DEFAMATION CAUSES OF ACTION REINSTATED (FOURTH DEPT).
A COURT MAY CONVERT A MOTION TO DISMISS TO A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT WITHOUT NOTICE WHERE A PURE QUESTION OF LAW IS INVOLVED; THE STRICTER STANDARDS FOR NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENTS IN THE EMPLOYMENT CONTEXT DO NOT APPLY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SALE OF A BUSINESS (FOURTH DEPT).
STATEMENTS MADE AFTER DEFENDANT ASSERTED HIS RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED, BUT THE ERROR WAS HARMLESS; CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF A WEAPON WAS A CONTINUING CRIME AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHARGED AS A SINGLE COUNT, NOT FOUR COUNTS; AN OBJECTION OR A MOTION FOR A MISTRIAL IS NECESSARY TO PRESERVE AN ERROR AFTER A CURATIVE INSTRUCTION HAS BEEN GIVEN (FOURTH DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

PETITIONER’S SISTER ACTED AS AGENT FOR THEIR DECEASED MOTHER; PETITIONER’S... ENGAGING IN COUNSELING SHOULD NOT BE A CONDITION OF VISITATION; THE COURT SHOULD...