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
THERE WAS NO PROOF DEFENDANT EXERCISED DOMINION AND CONTROL OVER THE AREA WHERE THE DRUGS WERE FOUND; DEFENDANT’S MERE PRESENCE IN THE VICINITY OF THE DRUGS DID NOT PROVE HIS POSSESSION OF THE DRUGS (FOURTH DEPT).
DEFENDANT’S CONVICTIONS RELATING TO THE CODEFENDANT’S POSSESSION AND FIRING OF A WEAPON DURING A ROBBERY AT WHICH DEFENDANT WAS NOT PRESENT WERE BASED UPON LEGALLY INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE; DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION OF POSSESSION OF A WEAPON BASED UPON THE CODEFENDANT’S GETTING INTO DEFENDANT’S CAR WITH THE WEAPON WAS AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE (FOURTH DEPT).
Falling Off X-Ray Table Raised Question of Fact
DEFENDANTS’ ATTORNEYS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISQUALIFIED BECAUSE THEY HAD REPRESENTED PLAINTIFFS’ TRUSTEE, A NONPARTY, IN AN UNRELATED MATTER (FOURTH DEPT).
Defendant’s Indelible Right to Counsel Did Not Attach When the Attorney for Defendant’s Husband’s Estate Communicated with the Police—The Attorney Was Unaware that Defendant Was a Suspect In Her Husband’s Death at the Time of the Communication
No “Extraordinary Circumstances” Existed to Justify Granting Primary Custody of Child to Grandparents
PROMOTING PROSTITUTION CONVICTIONS REVERSED BECAUSE THE PROMOTING PROSTITUTION COUNTS ARE INCLUSORY CONCURRENT COUNTS OF SEX TRAFFICKING (FOURTH DEPT). ​
MOTHER WAS PROPERLY FOUND TO HAVE DEFAULTED IN THIS CUSTODY MATTER; MOTHER’S ATTORNEY APPEARED BUT DECLINED TO PARTICIPATE; ALTHOUGH AN ORDER ENTERED UPON DEFAULT CANNOT BE APPEALED, CONTESTED MATTERS DETERMINED BY THE TRIAL COURT, HERE WHETHER MOTHER’S ATTORNEY’S REQUEST FOR AN ADJOURNMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, CAN BE CONSIDERED UPON APPEAL FROM THE ORDER (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...