De Souza v. El Sol Contracting and Construction Corporation, et al.

Summary

The Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed an order granting Ronald G. De Souza partial summary judgment on his Labor Law § 240(1) claim. The court held that evidence concerning the collapse of an inadequately stabilized ladder established prima facie entitlement to judgment and that defendants failed to raise a triable issue regarding sole proximate cause.

Holdings

1. Plaintiff established prima facie entitlement to partial summary judgment on his Labor Law § 240(1) claim through deposition testimony, photographs, and an investigative incident report showing that an inadequate, unstable ladder collapsed while he was performing elevated construction work.
2. Defendants failed to raise a triable issue of fact on sole proximate cause because their affidavits did not establish that plaintiff knew he was expected to use another ladder and unreasonably rejected that alternative.
3. Defendants did not raise a triable issue of fact based on plaintiff's alleged failure to have a coworker brace the ladder; at most, that conduct would constitute comparative negligence, which is not a defense to a Labor Law § 240(1) claim, and a coworker is not a statutorily contemplated safety device for an otherwise inadequate ladder.

Questions Presented

1. Whether plaintiff established prima facie entitlement to partial summary judgment on his Labor Law § 240(1) claim.
2. Whether defendants raised a triable issue of fact that plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of his accident because he used a dismantled ladder despite the availability of safer ladders.
3. Whether plaintiff's alleged failure to comply with instructions to have a coworker brace the ladder created a triable issue of fact concerning sole proximate cause.

Disposition

affirmed