Summary
This Appellate Division, First Department decision affirms the Supreme Court's grant of summary judgment dismissing a plaintiff's Labor Law §§ 240(1), 241(6), and 200 claims arising from a workplace injury during a condominium renovation. The court held that individual apartment owners qualified for the homeowner's exemption because they did not direct or control the work, and that the condominium corporation lacked supervisory authority over the specific activity where the injury occurred. The cross-appeal by a third-party defendant was dismissed as taken by a party not aggrieved by the underlying order.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the homeowner's exemption bars Labor Law §§240(1) and 241(6) claims against owners of a one‑family dwelling who do not direct or control the work.
- Whether Labor Law §200 and common‑law negligence claims are barred against the same owners and the condominium defendants due to lack of supervisory control.
- Whether the third‑party defendant Taocon, Inc. is an aggrieved party for purposes of a cross‑appeal.
Holdings
- The claims are dismissed because owners of one‑ and two‑family dwellings who contract for but do not direct or control the work are exempt from Labor Law §§240(1) and 241(6).
- The claims are dismissed because the defendants did not exercise supervisory control over the activity that caused plaintiff's injury.
- Taocon is not an aggrieved party; its cross‑appeal is dismissed.
Key quotations
“The court properly dismissed the Labor Law §§ 240(1) and 241(6) claims as against Caceres and Michael Novogratz.”
“The court properly dismissed the Labor Law § 200 and common-law negligence claims as against Caceres, since there are no issues of fact as to whether she directed or controlled plaintiff's work.”
Factual background
Plaintiff was injured when a coworker on a ladder dropped metal "Z clips" onto his head while he was working on a renovation of a single‑family apartment in a condominium building; he was not wearing a hard hat.
Procedural history
The Bronx County Supreme Court entered an order on April 30, 2023 granting defendants' motions for summary judgment on Labor Law and negligence claims. Jagdeo appealed the dismissal; Taocon cross‑appealed but was found not aggrieved.