Maza v. 120 E. 144 LLC

Summary

The Appellate Division, First Department, unanimously affirmed an order denying plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment on claims under Labor Law §§ 240(1) and 241(6). The court held that conflicting accounts of how a Bobcat bucket injured plaintiff's foot created issues of fact concerning whether the injury was gravity-related and whether alleged Industrial Code violations caused the injury.

Holdings

1. Partial summary judgment was properly denied because defendant raised an issue of fact concerning the cause of plaintiff's injury and whether the injury was gravity-related. The alternate account, in which plaintiff's foot was wedged when the Bobcat raised an attached bucket, was not gravity-related and therefore could not support liability under Labor Law § 240(1).
2. Partial summary judgment was properly denied on plaintiff's Labor Law § 241(6) claim premised on Industrial Code §§ 23-1.5(c)(3) and 23-9.2(a), because the alternate account of the accident raised an issue of fact as to whether any violation of those provisions caused plaintiff's injuries.

Questions Presented

1. Whether plaintiff was entitled to partial summary judgment under Labor Law § 240(1) where conflicting evidence raised an issue of fact concerning how the injury occurred and whether it was gravity-related.
2. Whether plaintiff was entitled to partial summary judgment under Labor Law § 241(6), premised on Industrial Code §§ 23-1.5(c)(3) and 23-9.2(a), where conflicting evidence raised an issue of fact concerning causation.

Disposition

affirmed