(Download) "Leland E. Brant Et Al. v. Republic Steel Corporation" by Supreme Court of New York # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Leland E. Brant Et Al. v. Republic Steel Corporation
- Author : Supreme Court of New York
- Release Date : January 17, 1982
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 68 KB
Description
Order and interlocutory judgment unanimously reversed, without costs, and plaintiffs motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability under subdivision 1 of section 240 of the Labor Law granted. Memorandum: Plaintiff Leland E. Brant, an employee of W. J. Taylor International Construction Corp. (Taylor), was injured while working on the premises of defendant Republic Steel Corporation (Republic). At the time of the accident plaintiff was engaged in reconstructing an elevated rail line on which iron ore pellets were transported. He was working on an elevated platform located several feet below the rail line. The platform was strewn with iron ore pellets and contained an opening in its floor through which passed steel support beams which were being removed by plaintiff. After cutting away one of the beams, plaintiff slipped on the iron ore pellets and fell through the opening 25 feet to the ground below. No device of any kind had been provided to protect plaintiff from falling through the opening. The work was being performed under a contract between Taylor and Republic which provided for indemnification of Republic by Taylor. An addendum to the contract entitled "General Safety Order No. 18" (GSO No. 18) also provided for such indemnification and superseded the indemnification clause in the contract. While the indemnification provided for in GSO No. 18 was broad and held Republic harmless from any loss arising out of the work, it did not apply to damages caused by Republics "active conduct". Plaintiffs moved for summary judgment against Republic on the issue of liability under subdivision 1 of section 240 and subdivision 6 of section 241 of the Labor Law. Republic moved for summary judgment for indemnification against Taylor, and Taylor cross-moved for summary judgment to dismiss Republics third-party complaint. Special Term denied plaintiffs motion under subdivision 1 of section 240; granted plaintiffs motion under subdivision 6 of section 241; and denied both Republics motion and Taylors cross motion. A violation of subdivision 1 of section 240 resulting in injuries gives rise to absolute liability for those injuries (Haimes v New York Tel. Co., 46 N.Y.2d 132). Here there is no dispute that plaintiff was working on an elevated platform and that he was furnished with no device to protect him from falling through an opening in its floor. The failure to furnish a device "which shall be so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper protection" violated the command of the statute (Labor Law, § 240, subd 1). Although plaintiffs fall resulted from his loss of footing due to the presence of iron ore pellets, the failure to provide a protective device was causative of his injury (cf. Joyce v Rumsey Realty Corp., 17 N.Y.2d 118, 122-123). In such circumstances, summary judgment should have been granted to plaintiffs on the issue of liability under section 240 (Rea v Elia Bldg. Co., 79 A.D.2d 1102). Special Term [91 A.D.2d 841 Page 842]
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