1/8/2010
Siegel v. RRG Fort Greene, Inc et. al.
Plaintiff, an electrician, was installing BX cable above the ceiling grid when his ladder tipped causing him to fall to the ground. Defendant H & L Electric was plaintiff’s employer. JLS was the general contractor. The court below granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgmenton on the issue of liability under Labor Law 240(1). Thereafter they granted JLS motion for summary judgment on contractual indemnifications against H & L Electric. CMM appealed the latter arguing that an issue of fact existed regarding the cause of the accident. Specifically, Kathleen Mulholland argued that plaintiff’s ladder tipped because it was placed on a covered expansion joint. As such, it was Ms. Mulholland’s position that JLS created the alleged defect by failing to properly cover the expansion joint. The Appellate Division agreed with Ms. Mulholland’s arguement and concluded that JLS was not entitled to summary judgment over H & L.