You are here: / / DEFENDANT WAS A PRIME, NOT A GENERAL, CONTRACTOR AND DEMONSTRATED HE DID...

DEFENDANT WAS A PRIME, NOT A GENERAL, CONTRACTOR AND DEMONSTRATED HE DID NOT EXERCISE SUPERVISION OR CONTROL OVER PLAINTIFF’S WORK; THEREFORE DEFENDANT WAS NOT LIABLE UNDER LABOR LAW 240(1) AND 241(6); HOWEVER, DEFENDANT DID EXERCISE SOME CONTROL OVER WORK-SITE SAFETY AND THEREFORE MAY BE LIABLE UNDER LABOR LAW 200 (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined defendant prime contractor, Kilian, did not supervise or control plaintiff’s work and therefore was not liable on the Labor Law 240(1) and 241(6) causes of action stemming from plaintiff’s fall down an open stairway at a house under construction. The Fourth Department noted the difference between a general contractor and a prime contractor. Here, Kilian (the prime contractor) demonstrated he did not exercise supervision or control over plaintiff’s work. However, Kilian did exercise some control over work-site safety and therefore may be liable under Labor Law 200 for the dangerous condition (open stairwell):

“A general contractor will be held liable under [Labor Law §§ 240 (1) and 241 (6)] if it was responsible for coordinating and supervising the entire construction project and was invested with a concomitant power to enforce safety standards and to hire responsible contractors” … . Here, Collins, not Kilian, hired plaintiff’s employer to perform work on the project, and Kilian established through the documentary evidence and deposition testimony that he exercised no control or supervision over plaintiff’s work and had no authority to enforce safety standards against plaintiff … . Thus, Kilian established as a matter of law that he was not a general contractor subject to liability pursuant to Labor Law §§ 240 (1) or 241 (6), and plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact … . …

… [T]o the extent that the section 200 claim against Kilian is based on the theory that he was negligent with respect to the dangerous condition of the stairwell, we conclude that Kilian failed to establish as a matter of law that he did not have control over the work site or that he lacked actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition, i.e., the unguarded, open stairwell … . Clifton v Collins, 2022 NY Slip Op 00780, Fourth Dept 2-4-22

 

You might also like
RECORD IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO DETERMINE HOW THE TRIAL COURT HANDLED NOTES FROM THE JURY, NEW TRIAL ORDERED; CHALLENGE TO THE PROPRIETY OF HOLDING A RECONSTRUCTION HEARING IS MOOT AND WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED AS AN EXCEPTION TO THE MOOTNESS DOCTRINE (FOURTH DEPT).
NEW YORK DID NOT HAVE SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OVER A CUSTODY MATTER BECAUSE THE CHILD HAD NOT LIVED IN NEW YORK FOR SIX MONTHS AT THE TIME THE PROCEEDINGS WERE COMMENCED, NEW JERSEY STILL HAD JURISDICTION AT THAT TIME BECAUSE THE CHILD HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM NEW JERSEY LESS THAN SIX MONTHS BEFORE THE NEW YORK PROCEEDINGS WERE COMMENCED (FOURTH DEPT).
VILLAGE CODE DID NOT EXPLICITLY IMPOSE TORT LIABILITY FOR SIDEWALK SLIP AND FALLS ON THE ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNERS, ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNER’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED.
WHEN DEFENDANT BECAME DISRUPTIVE JUST BEFORE THE PROSPECTIVE JURORS WERE BROUGHT IN THE JUDGE HAD HIM REMOVED FROM THE COURTROOM WITHOUT FIRST WARNING HIM AS REQUIRED BY STATUTE; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (FOURTH DEPT).
Defendant Invoked His Right to Counsel By Asking a Police Officer to Retrieve Defendant’s Lawyer’s Phone Number from Defendant’s Wallet—Subsequent Statements Should Have Been Suppressed/Defense Counsel’s Failure to Move to Suppress Weapon Seized from Defendant’s Person Deprived Defendant of Effective Assistance
PURSUANT TO THE EMERGENCY OR DISASTER TREATMENT PROTECTION ACT (EDTPA), HEALTH CARE WORKERS WHO TREATED COVID-19 PATIENTS WERE IMMUNE FROM CIVIL LIABILITY; THE EDTPA HAS SINCE BEEN REPEALED; THE REPEAL SHOULD NOT BE APPLIED RETROACTIVELY; THE CAUSES OF ACTION ALLEGING IMPROPER TREATMENT FOR COVID-19 DURING THE TIME THE EDTPA WAS IN EFFECT MUST BE DISMISSED (FOURTH DEPT).
MOTION TO AMEND THE COMPLAINT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, CRITERIA EXPLAINED, CIVIL CONSPIRACY CLAIM PROPERLY ALLEGED (FOURTH DEPT).
Employer Not Required to Accommodate Employee with Epilepsy with Permanent Light-Duty Assignment

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

ALTHOUGH THE PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION IN THIS BREACH OF CONTRACT ACTION WAS PROPERLY... MANSLAUGHTER FIRST DEGREE IS NOT AN “ARMED FELONY” WITHIN THE MEANING...