Losito v. Manlyn Development Group, Inc.

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department, reversed a judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s Labor Law § 240(1) claim against Manlyn Development Group, Inc. and FB of Long Island, LLC. The court held that the plaintiff established that a defective A-frame ladder collapsed and that the defendants failed to raise a triable issue of fact, including regarding whether the foreman’s conduct constituted a superseding cause.

Holdings

1. The plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on liability because he established prima facie that the defective A-frame ladder collapsed and caused his injuries, and the respondents failed to raise a triable issue of fact.
2. The respondents failed to raise a triable issue of fact that the foreman's act of stepping on the back of the plaintiff's ladder was an extraordinary or sufficiently attenuated superseding cause that relieved them of Labor Law § 240 (1) liability.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the plaintiff established prima facie entitlement to summary judgment on liability under Labor Law § 240 (1) by showing that the defective A-frame ladder collapsed and caused his injuries.
2. Whether the defendants raised a triable issue of fact that the foreman's act of stepping on the ladder constituted a superseding cause relieving them of Labor Law § 240 (1) liability.

Disposition

reversed