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THE BUILT-IN WATER HEATER WAS A “STRUCTURE” AND PLAINTIFF WAS ENGAGED IN “REPAIR” WITHIN THE MEANING OF LABOR LAW 240(1); A SHELF ROUTINELY USED AS A PLATFORM TO ACCESS THE BUILT-IN WATER HEATER COULD CONSTITUTE A DANGEROUS CONDITION WITHIN THE MEANING OF LABOR LAW 200 (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined (1) the built-in water heater plaintiff was attempting to shut off was a “structure” within the meaning of Labor Law 240(1); (2) plaintiff (Eherts) was engaged in repair, a covered activity, not routine maintenance; and (3) the Labor Law 200 cause of action should not have been dismissed. The plaintiff determined it was important to turn off the water heater to prevent damage because of a suspected water main break. To access the built-in water heater it was necessary to step on suspended shelves. The shelf plaintiff stepped on gave way and he fell:

The situation here is not one of a stand-alone hot water heater accessible at floor level. To the contrary, the record shows that the hot water heater is situated above one of the store’s refrigerated units. The heater does not directly rest on top of the freezer, but on a platform suspended a few inches above the freezer by cables attached to the ceiling. The heater has a gas turnoff adjacent to it and an electric breaker switch on the actual heater. There is a shelf that runs along the top of the freezer unit that protrudes out about three feet from the freezer, approximately 12 feet above the floor surface. To access the heater, it was necessary to place a ladder against the shelf, and step over the shelf to reach the heater platform. In our view, this configuration constitutes a structure within the embrace of Labor Law § 240 (1)  … . …

The events here did not occur during a routine scheduled maintenance call. Instead, on New Year’s Day, Eherts was responding to an isolated and unexpected event, i.e., to address a low/no water pressure issue at the store caused by a municipal water main break. His direct response was to take preventative measures to, among other things, avoid damage to the hot water heater by shutting the system off. Eherts v Shoprite Supermarkets, Inc., 2021 NY Slip Op 06587, Third Dept 11-24-21

 

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PETITIONER WAS ENTITLED TO ATTORNEY’S FEES AS THE PREVAILING PARTY IN THIS FOIL PROCEEDING; RESPONDENT HAD AGREED TO ALLOW PETITIONER TO VIEW THE ELECTRONIC FILES USING ITS VIEWING PROGRAM, BUT HAD DENIED, FOR NO GOOD REASON, PETITIONER’S REQUEST TO TRANSFER THE FILES TO A FLASH DRIVE (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined petitioner was entitled to attorney’s fees because petitioner substantially prevailed on certain requests for documents after commencing an Article 78 proceeding. With respect to one of the requests, although respondent had agreed to allow petitioner to view the requested electronic files using respondent’s viewing program, respondent, without good reason, denied petitioner’s request to place the files on a flash drive:

We agree with petitioner that Supreme Court erred in denying its request for counsel fees. As relevant here, a court in a FOIL proceeding “shall assess, against such agency involved, reasonable [counsel] fees and other litigation costs . . . in any case . . . in which such person has substantially prevailed and the court finds that the agency had no reasonable basis for denying access” to the records sought … . “‘A petitioner substantially prevails under Public Officers Law § 89 (4) (c) when it receives all the information that it requested and to which it was entitled in response to the underlying FOIL litigation'” … .

Petitioner substantially prevailed in the litigation. Through use of the judicial process, petitioner received documents responsive to demand Nos. 2-5 in the medium it desired and obtained a certification under demand Nos. 6-8 pertaining to multifamily homes … . Contrary to Supreme Court’s finding, the fact that the disclosure under demand Nos. 2-5 stemmed from a mutual accord between the parties does not change the analysis, as “the voluntariness of an agency’s disclosure after the commencement of a CPLR article 78 proceeding will not preclude a finding that a litigant has substantially prevailed” … . Moreover, respondent did not have a reasonable basis for the precommencement denial of the records responsive to demand Nos. 2-5, as evidenced by its subsequent production of said documents in electronic form. Matter of Aron Law PLLC v Town of Fallsburg, 2021 NY Slip Op 06593, Third Dept 11-24-21

 

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THE WIFE’S TEMPORARY MAINTENANCE ARREARS SHOULD HAVE BEEN CALCULATED FROM THE DATE OF THE WIFE’S APPLICATION FOR MAINTENANCE, NOT THE PRIOR DATE WHEN SHE BECAME UNEMPLOYED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined the temporary maintenance awarded the wife should have commenced on the date of her application for temporary maintenance, not the prior date when she became unemployed:

We … agree with the husband that Supreme Court erred in ordering him to pay arrears retroactive to the wife’s date of unemployment, rather than the date of her application for temporary maintenance. The submissions demonstrated that the wife lost her job and the court made temporary maintenance retroactive to that date, November 26, 2019, yet the wife did not file her motion seeking temporary maintenance until April 2020. As applications for pendente lite relief are to be calculated from the date of the application …, the court’s calculation of arrears from the date of the wife’s unemployment was error. Carter v Fairchild-Carter, 2021 NY Slip Op 06594, Third Dept 11-24-21

 

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IN THIS FORECLOSURE PROCEEDING, PLAINTIFF BANK FAILED TO DEMONSTRATE STRICT COMPLIANCE WITH THE NOTICE REQUIREMENTS OF RPAPL 1304; NO FOUNDATION FOR THE SUBMITTED BUSINESS RECORDS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s summary judgment motion in this foreclosure action should not have been granted. Strict compliance with the notice requirements of RPAPL 1304 was not demonstrated with admissible evidence:

… [I]n support of its motion Bayview [plaintiff, successor-in-interest to the original plaintiff, Bank of America (BoA)] submitted the affidavit of Nicole Currey, a supervisor for Bayview, who attached to her affidavit copies of various documents generated by nonparty Walz Group, Inc. (hereinafter Walz), to establish compliance with the mailing requirements of RPAPL 1304. However, Currey failed to address the nature of the relationship between Walz and BoA , and Bayview’s submissions were insufficient to establish a foundation for the admission of the business records relied upon by Bayview to establish compliance with RPAPL 1304 … . Therefore, Bayview failed to demonstrate, prima facie, its strict compliance with the 90-day notice requirement of RPAPL 1304 … . Bank of Am., N.A. v Evanson, 2021 NY Slip Op 06601, Second Dept 11-24-21

 

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THE PLAINTIFF BICYCLIST COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF HIS FALL AND THE CITY DID NOT HAVE WRITTEN NOTICE OF ANY ROADWAY DEFECTS IN THE AREA; DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendants’ motion for summary judgment in this bicycle-fall case should have been granted. Plaintiff could not identify the cause of his fall and the city did not have written notice of any roadway defects:

“In a trip-and-fall case, a defendant may establish its prima facie entitlement to judgement as a matter of law by submitting evidence that the plaintiff cannot identify the cause of his or her fall” without resorting to speculation … . Here, the injured plaintiff acknowledged at the General Municipal Law § 50-h hearing that he had no recollection of what caused his accident. He testified that he remembered riding his bicycle downhill somewhere on Forest Park Drive and waking up in an ambulance—but nothing in between. Given this lack of information, “it is just as likely that the accident [was] caused by some . . . factor [other than the conditions of the road], such as a . . . loss of balance” or control … . Accordingly, a finding that the City’s negligent maintenance of the roadway, if any, was responsible for the accident would be impermissibly based on speculation … . …

… [T]he defendants established their … entitlement to judgment as a matter of law dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against the City by presenting evidence that the City Department of Transportation had not received prior written notice of the defective roadway condition that allegedly caused the injured plaintiff’s accident  … . Xin Zheng Zhan v City of New York, 2021 NY Slip Op 06646, Second Dept 11-24-21

 

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THE BATSON CHALLENGE TO THE PROSECUTOR’S EXCLUSION OF A JUROR SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, NEW TRIAL ORDERED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing defendant’s conviction and ordering a new trial, determined defendant’s Batson challenge to the prosecutor’s exclusion of a juror should have been granted:

When providing a race-neutral reason for exercising a peremptory challenge as to S.K., the prosecutor stated that S.K. “is a school counselor and . . . when talking about how she would . . . settle disputes amongst two parties, indicated that she wanted to hear from both sides.” Defense counsel disputed this reason, and argued that the prosecutor did not exercise a peremptory challenge as to prospective white juror N.Z., a school counselor who “indicated that she would need to hear both stories” when working through a conflict between two children at work. The court then acknowledged that the prosecutor did not use a peremptory challenge as to N.Z., and that “[s]he is a white female.” The court denied the defendant’s Batson challenge. * * *

The defendant correctly contends that the court erred in finding that the prosecutor’s race-neutral reason for striking S.K. was not a pretext for discrimination. Here, the record demonstrates that the articulated race-neutral reasons for challenging S.K. were not applied equally to exclude a prospective juror, N.Z., who was not black and could have been challenged by the prosecutor for the same reasons. “Although the uneven application of race-neutral factors does not indicate pretext where the prosecution can articulate other legitimate reasons to justify the use of its challenges”… , the prosecution here failed to do so. Under these circumstances, we conclude that the nonracial bases advanced by the prosecutor for challenging S.K. were pretextual and “give[ ] rise to an inference of discriminatory intent” … . People v Johnson, 2021 NY Slip Op 06627, Second Dept 11-24-21

 

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ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF’S HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT ALLEGATIONS DID NOT STATE A CAUSE OF ACTION UNDER THE APPLICABLE NEW YORK STATE HUMAN RIGHTS LAW PROVISIONS, THE ALLEGATIONS DID STATE A CAUSE OF ACTION UNDER THE MORE PROTECTIVE NEW YORK CITY HUMAN RIGHTS LAW (CT APP).

The First Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined the complaint stated a hostile work environment cause of action under the more protective New York City Human Rights Law, but not under the New York State Human Rights Law:

… [A]lthough the motion court properly concluded that it does not rise to the level of “severe and pervasive” under the applicable pre-2019 State HRL, plaintiff has raised triable issues of fact regarding the hostile work environment claims under the more protective City HRL … . There was evidence that in May and September 2015, several of plaintiff’s coworkers referred to him by using the Spanish word for “monkey,” a racially humiliating and degrading term. Further, the evidence suggested that other coworkers and supervisors, if not everyone at the restaurant, knew that certain employees were using that term to refer to plaintiff … . Under these circumstances, triable issues exist as to whether this rises above the level of a “truly insubstantial” case … . The evidence also raised triable issues as to whether plaintiff was treated differently from other employees of his ethnic background because of his skin color … .

… [T]riable issues of fact exist as to whether defendant was liable for the comments of its workers, and whether defendant took “immediate and appropriate corrective action” to prevent the conduct … . Pichardo v Carmine’s Broadway Feast Inc, 2021 NY Slip Op 06565, First Dept 11-23-21

 

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WORKERS’ COMPENSATION DEATH BENEFIT CLAIMS CANNOT BE TRANSFERRED TO THE SPECIAL FUND ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2014, EVEN IF THE DISABILITY CLAIM FOR THE SAME INJURY HAD BEEN TRANSFERRED BEFORE THE CUT-OFF (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, reversing the Appellate Division, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Rivera, over a two-judge dissent, determined Workers’ Compensation death benefit claims which accrued on orf after January 1, 2014, cannot be transferred to the Special Fund for Reopened Cases (Special Fund) even if the disability claim for the same injury had been transferred prior to the cut-off:

Under Workers’ Compensation Law (WCL) § 25-a (1-a), no liability for claims submitted on or after January 1, 2014, may be transferred to the Special Fund for Reopened Cases (the Special Fund). The common issue presented in these appeals is whether WCL § 25-a (1-a) forecloses the transfer of liability for a death benefits claim submitted on or after the cut-off, regardless of the prior transfer of liability for a worker’s disability claim arising out of the same injury. Based on the plain statutory language, which broadly applies to all claims submitted after the deadline, and our established precedent that a death benefits claim accrues at the time of death and “is a separate and distinct legal proceeding” from the worker’s original disability claim … , we conclude that liability for the death benefits claims at issue here could not be transferred to the Special Fund. Matter of Verneau v Consolidated Edison Co. of N.Y., Inc., 2021 NY Slip Op 06531, CtApp 11-23-21

 

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IF QUESTIONING A DEFENDANT ABOUT WHERE HE/SHE LIVES SERVES AN ADMINISTRATIVE PURPOSE AND IS NOT A DISGUISED ATTEMPT TO OBTAIN INCRIMINATING INFORMATION, DEFENDANT’S ANSWER IS SUBJECT TO THE PEDIGREE EXCEPTION TO THE MIRANDA REQUIREMENT; DNA EVIDENCE GATHERED BY THE FORENSIC STATISTICAL TOOL (FST) SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADMITTED WITHOUT HOLDING A FRYE HEARING (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Fahey, reversing the Appellate Division, over a two-judge dissent, determined: (1) under the facts, the defendant’s answer to the police officer’s question regarding where he lived fell within the “pedigree exception” to the Miranda requirement (and therefore was not suppressible); and (2), the DNA evidence generated by the forensic statistical tool (FST) should not have been admitted without holding a Frye hearing:

We hold that the pedigree exception will not apply even if the pedigree question is reasonably related to police administrative concerns where, under the circumstances of the case, a reasonable person would conclude based on an objective analysis that the pedigree question was a “disguised attempt at investigatory interrogation” … . …

… [T]the pedigree questions were not a disguised attempt at investigatory interrogation … . … [T]he police asked defendant his name, date of birth, and where he lived immediately after their entry to the apartment, before the apartment had been searched and before any contraband had been found. The detective further testified that it is standard practice for all adults found at a location where a search warrant is executed to be handcuffed and asked these pedigree questions, regardless of whether contraband is found during the search. That defendant’s response ultimately turned out to be incriminating does not alter the conclusion that, at the time it was asked, the question was not a disguised attempt at investigatory interrogation by the police … . * * *

Williams [35 NY3d 24] contains our reasoning on the Frye issue with respect to the FST. …

… “FST is a proprietary program exclusively developed and controlled by OCME [New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner],” and … the approval of the DNA Subcommittee was “no substitute for the scrutiny of the relevant scientific community” … . People v Wortham, 2021 NY Slip Op 06530, CtApp 11-23-21

 

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DEFENDANT’S CHALLENGE TO CERTIFICATION AS A SEX OFFENDER WAS FIRST RAISED IN THE APPELLATE DIVISION AND WAS NOT PRESERVED FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COURT OF APPEALS; THE ILLEGAL SENTENCE EXCEPTION TO THE PRESERVATION REQUIREMENT DOES NOT APPLY BECAUSE SORA CERTIFICATION IS NOT PART OF THE SENTENCE (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, reversing the Appellate Division, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Cannataro, over a two-judge dissent, determined the challenge to the legality of defendant’s certification as a sex offender, first raised on appeal to the Appellate Division, was not preserved and the illegal sentence exception to the preservation requirement did not apply:

Defendant thereafter pleaded guilty to … burglary in the first degree as a sexually motivated felony … . … [T]he court … advised defendant that he would have to register pursuant to SORA upon his release from prison. * * *

On appeal to the Appellate Division, defendant argued for the first time that his certification as a sex offender was unlawful because his crime of conviction is not an enumerated registerable sex offense under Correction Law § 168-a (2) (a). * * *

The Appellate Division agreed with defendant that under the “clear and unambiguous” language of Correction Law § 168-a (2) (a) “burglary in the first degree as a sexually motivated felony is not a registerable sex offense under SORA” … . * * *

“We have recognized ‘a narrow exception to the preservation rule’ where a court exceeds its powers and imposes a sentence that is illegal in a respect that is readily discernible from the trial record” … . However, “not all claims arising during a sentencing proceeding fall within the exception” … . * * *

… [S]ex offender certification is effectuated by the court pursuant to Correction Law § 168-d and is not addressed in either the Criminal Procedure Law or Title E of the Penal Law. … SORA certification is not part of a sentence and the illegal sentence exception to the preservation requirement does not apply to challenges to certification as a sex offender. People v Buyund, 2021 NY Slip Op 06529, CtApp 11-23-21

 

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