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Garbage on Sidewalk May Create Liability

The Second Department determined that defendant’s motion for summary judgment should have been denied.  The plaintiff was injured when his bicycle struck garbage and debris on a sidewalk abutting a building owned by defendants.

New York City Administrative Code § 7-210 imposes a duty upon property owners to maintain the sidewalk adjacent to their property. That duty includes the duty to remove “dirt or other material from the sidewalk,” which includes debris on the sidewalk which came from garbage bags placed on the sidewalk by the property owner (New York City Administrative Code § 7-210 [b];…). On their motion for summary judgment, the defendants bore the burden of establishing that they neither created the hazardous condition nor had actual or constructive notice of its existence…. The defendants failed to establish their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. They failed to demonstrate that they did not create a dangerous condition, nor did they establish that they properly maintained the sidewalk as required by Administrative Code of the City of NY § 7-210… .  Weinberg v 2345 Ocean Assoc, LLC, 2013 NY Slip Op 05060, 2nd  Dept 7-3-13

 

 

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Orange County Executive Did Not Have Authority to Terminate County Employees Before County Legislature Eliminated Positions

The Second Department reversed Supreme Court and determined the Orange County Executive did not have the authority to terminate county employees before the legislature acted to removed funding for the positions:

The doctrine of “[l]egislative equivalency requires that a position created by a legislative act can only be abolished by correlative legislative act”…. Pursuant to section 2.02(1) of the Orange County Charter and Orange County Administrative Code, the Orange County Legislature possesses sole authority to “establish or abolish positions of employment and titles thereof.” Here, the County Legislature had not taken any action to abolish the subject positions at the time the County Executive terminated the subject employees’ employment. While the Orange County Charter and Orange County Administrative Code give the County Executive the authority to “supervise, direct and control and administer all departments” (Orange County Charter § 3.02[e]; Administrative Code § 3.02[e]), they do not give the County Executive the authority to terminate the employment of civil service employees without a proper abolition of the positions by the County Legislature in accordance with the doctrine of legislative equivalency…. Further, County Charter § 4.10(a) does not authorize the County Executive to undertake any “remedial action” constituting, inter alia, unilateral modification to the budget and/or abolition of legislatively created positions…. Therefore, under these circumstances, the County Executive did not have the authority to terminate the subject employees’ employment for economic reasons, effective October 29, 2010.   Matter of Civil Serv Empls Assn Inc v County of Orange, 2013 NY Slip Op 04798, 2nd Dept 6-26-13

 

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Hospital Can Be Vicariously Liable for Actions of Non-employee Physician Under Apparent or Ostensible Agency Theory

The Second Department explained when a hospital can be held vicariously responsible, under a theory of apparent or ostensible agency, for the actions of non-employee physicians who provide medical services at the hospital:

“A hospital [is] responsible to a patient who sought medical care at the hospital, . . . rather than from any particular physician although the physician whose malpractice caused injury to the patient was not an employee of the hospital”… . To create an apparent or ostensible agency, the plaintiff must reasonably rely on the appearance of authority, based on some misleading words or conduct by the principal, not the agent. Moreover, the plaintiff must accept the services of the agent in reliance upon the perceived relationship between the agent and the principal, and not on reliance on the agent’s skill…. In the context of a medical malpractice action, the patient must have reasonably believed that the physicians treating her were provided by the hospital or acted on the hospital’s… . In evaluating whether a doctor is the apparent agent of a hospital, a court should consider all attendant circumstances to determine whether the patient could properly have believed that the physician was provided by the hospital… .  Loaiza v Lam, 2013 NY Slip Op 04780, 2nd Dept 6-26-13

 

Glass Plate in Wall Under Demolition Was Not a “Falling Object” within the Meaning of Labor Law 240 (1)

The Second Department determined injury caused by a glass plate that cracked and fell on plaintiff during demolition was not a “falling object” injury within the meaning of Labor Law 240 (1) because the glass did not requiring securing and the accident was not due to the absence of safety equipment:

The Supreme Court should have granted that branch of the defendants’ cross motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240(1). Not every object that falls on a worker gives rise to the extraordinary protections of Labor Law § 240(1) ….. To recover, a plaintiff must show that, at the time the object fell, it was being hoisted or secured, or “required securing for the purposes of the undertaking”…. The plaintiff also must show that the object fell “because of the absence or inadequacy of a safety device of the kind enumerated in the statute” …. Here, the glass pane that caused the plaintiff’s injuries was slated for demolition at the time of the accident, and the defendants established, prima facie, that the glass pane was not an object that required securing for the purposes of the undertaking, that is, the demolition… .  Maldonado v AMMM Props Co, 2013 NY Slip Op 04781, 2nd Dept 6-26-13

 

Worker Taking Onsite Measurements for Offsite Fabrication Covered Under Labor Law 240 (1)

The Second Department determined that a worker who was injured while he was taking measurements at the worksite for stonework which was to be fabricated offsite was engaged in a covered activity under the Labor Law.  The court further found that the absence of safety equipment supported summary judgment in favor of the worker even though no one witnessed the accident. With respect to “covered activity,” the Second Department wrote:

To invoke the protections afforded by Labor Law § 240(1), a ” plaintiff must demonstrate that he [or she] was both permitted or suffered to work on a building or structure and that he [or she] was hired by someone, be it owner, contractor or their agent,'” to work at the site…. Moreover, the plaintiff must have, at the time of the accident, been engaged in a “covered activity” under the statute…. “Section 240 is intended to place the ultimate responsibility for building practices on the owner and general contractor in order to protect the workers who are required to be there but who are scarcely in a position to protect themselves from accidents,” and it is to be liberally construed to achieve this purpose…. Here, [plaintiff] had been hired to fabricate sills, lintels, and coping stones to be used in the construction of the subject building. Part of that job included going to the work site and climbing to the roof of the building to take measurements in preparation for the fabrication. Thus, the injured plaintiff was performing a task ancillary to the construction work and was engaged in a “covered activity” within the meaning of Labor Law § 240(1) … .  Gallagher v Resnick, 2013 NY Slip Op 04774, 2nd Dept 6-26-13

 

Worker Taking Onsite Measurements for Offsite Fabrication Covered Under Labor Law 240 (1)

The Second Department determined that a worker who was injured while he was taking measurements at the worksite for stonework which was to be fabricated offsite was engaged in a covered activity under the Labor Law.  The court further found that the absence of safety equipment supported summary judgment in favor of the worker even though no one witnessed the accident. With respect to “covered activity,” the Second Department wrote:

To invoke the protections afforded by Labor Law § 240(1), a ” plaintiff must demonstrate that he [or she] was both permitted or suffered to work on a building or structure and that he [or she] was hired by someone, be it owner, contractor or their agent,'” to work at the site…. Moreover, the plaintiff must have, at the time of the accident, been engaged in a “covered activity” under the statute…. “Section 240 is intended to place the ultimate responsibility for building practices on the owner and general contractor in order to protect the workers who are required to be there but who are scarcely in a position to protect themselves from accidents,” and it is to be liberally construed to achieve this purpose…. Here, [plaintiff] had been hired to fabricate sills, lintels, and coping stones to be used in the construction of the subject building. Part of that job included going to the work site and climbing to the roof of the building to take measurements in preparation for the fabrication. Thus, the injured plaintiff was performing a task ancillary to the construction work and was engaged in a “covered activity” within the meaning of Labor Law § 240(1) … .  Gallagher v Resnick, 2013 NY Slip Op 04774, 2nd Dept 6-26-13

 

Petition by Guardian to Transfer Assets of Incapacitated Person Properly Denied

In denying a petition by a guardian to transfer some of the assets of an incapacitated person, the Second Department explained the relevant criteria:

A court may grant a petition pursuant to Mental Hygiene Law § 81.21 to authorize a guardian to transfer a part of an incapacitated person’s assets to or for the benefit of another person if it is satisfied by clear and convincing evidence, inter alia, that “a competent, reasonable individual in the position of the incapacitated person would be likely to perform the act or acts under the same circumstances” (Mental Hygiene Law § 81.21[e][2];…. Here, given the limited information …in support of the petition, and the absence of any indication that the proposed asset transfer plan was approved by the guardian of the property …., the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in denying the petition.  Matter of Modesta V, 2013 NY Slip Op 04818, 2nd Dept 6-26-13

 

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Article 78 Petition in Nature of Prohibition Against Judge and District Attorney Granted

The Second Department explained the criteria for an Article 78 action (against a judge and district attorney) in the nature of prohibition.  In this case Supreme Court had ordered defendant to appear for resentencing after the Appellate Division had ruled without remitting the matter to Supreme Court for further proceedings.  The Second Department granted the petition and prohibited the resentencing:

The remedy of prohibition generally lies when a court or an officer acts or threatens to act without jurisdiction or exceeds its authorized powers in a proceeding over which it has jurisdiction (see CPLR 7803[2];…). To warrant the extraordinary remedy of prohibition, it is not enough that the court made a mere legal error. Rather, the court’s error must implicate its very powers and thereby be subject to correction by prohibition….  Matter of Dow v Tomei, 2013 NY Slip Op 04799, 2nd Dept 6-26-13

 

Criteria for Derivative Neglect Finding Explained (Evidence Insufficient)

The Second Department, in reversing Family Court’s finding, explained the criteria for a finding of derivative neglect:

…[A] finding of sexual abuse of one child does not, by itself, establish that other children in the household have been derivatively abused or neglected …. The focus of the inquiry to determine whether derivative neglect is present is whether the evidence of abuse or neglect of one child indicates a fundamental defect in the parent’s understanding of the duties of parenthood …. Here, a derivative finding of neglect as to the child Brandon J. was warranted since the abuse was perpetrated while he was in the home…. However, given the limited duration and nature of the sexual abuse, as well as the remoteness in time between when Monica C. M. was abused and when Joshua A., the appellant’s biological son, was born more than four years later, there was insufficient evidence to support the Family Court’s determination that Arnold A. derivatively neglected Joshua A…..  Matter of Monica CM, 2013 NY Slip Op 04808, 2nd Dept 6-26-13

 

Standing Requirements for Grandparent Seeking Visitation Explained

The Second Department explained the standing requirements for a grandparent seeking visitation with a grandchild:

In a grandparent visitation proceeding, “the burden of establishing standing lies with the grandparent and it is conferred by the court, in its discretion, only after it has examined all the relevant facts'”…. In determining whether grandparents have standing or a right to be heard on a petition for visitation with a grandchild, the essential components to the inquiry are the “nature and extent of the grandparent-grandchild relationship” … and “the nature and basis of the parents’ objection to visitation” …. “The evidence necessary will vary in each case but what is required of grandparents must always be measured against what they could reasonably have done under the circumstances”…. A hearing to determine the issue of standing is not necessary where the submitted papers do not raise a triable issue of fact… .  Matter of Bender v Cendali, 2013 NY Slip Op 04796, 2nd Dept 6-26-13

 

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