PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION IN THIS LADDER-FALL CASE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED; THE PROPERTY OWNER WAS ENTITLED TO COMMON LAW INDEMNITY (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law 240 (1) claim in this ladder-fall case, and the property owner, Church of God, was entitled to common law indemnity because plaintiff’s work was supervised by his apparent employer, Belfor:

Plaintiff’s testimony that the ladder wobbled, flipped, and flopped, causing him to fall, sets forth a prima facie violation of Labor Law § 240(1) … . Defendants failed to adduce any evidence rebutting plaintiff’s showing, making summary judgment appropriate.

Plaintiff testified that he was using a Belfor ladder at the time of his fall. Belfor’s deponent, who had no knowledge of the accident, conceded that Belfor had ladders on site, and could not say whether plaintiff’s employer, the subcontractor who furnished labor for the cleaning and debris removal portion of the project, also brought ladders. There were no other subcontractors on site. Belfor’s deponent also testified that Belfor had a site supervisor, the only Belfor employee on site that day, and that he would have been “in the thick of it,” and not performing paperwork or similar administrative tasks. Plaintiff, who wore a Belfor uniform at Belfor’s behest, testified that Belfor employees were “the bosses,” ordering him around. This evidence, taken together, is sufficient to establish that Church of God made a prima facie showing of entitlement to common law indemnity … . Rivera-Astudillo v Garden of Prayer Church of God in Christ, Inc., 2019 NY Slip Op 07033, First Dept 10-1-19