Appeal No. 2 | N.Y. App. Div. | Oct 6, 1989
Order unanimously affirmed with costs. Memorandum: Union Drilling Corporation contracted with Suburban Pipe Line Company to construct a natural gas pipeline and Suburban subcontracted part of the work to Patriot Trucking, Inc. Plaintiff Robert Cox, an employee of Patriot Trucking, was injured when he fell from the top tier of gas pipes which were stacked upon a flatbed truck. At the time of his injuries, he and the foreman, who was also injured, were "stringing” the pipes along the path of the pipeline right-of-way. They performed the "stringing” operation by rolling each pipe off the flatbed truck along the right-of-way in a position where it was to be welded and installed in the pipeline excavation by employees of LaBarge Bros. Company.
Plaintiff brought this action alleging violation of Labor Law § 240 (1) and moved for summary judgment. Defendants opposed the motion, contending that plaintiff was not engaged in the "erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting, cleaning or pointing of a building or structure”. Defendants do not dispute that the pipeline is a "structure” within the meaning of the statute (see, Kahn v Gates Constr. Corp., 103 AD2d 438, 447), but they maintain that, at the time of his injury, plaintiff was not involved in the actual construction of the pipeline, but was merely delivering materials to a future construction site (see, Sprague v Louis Picciano, Inc., 100 AD2d 247, lv denied 62 NY2d 605). Special Term rejected defendants’ contention and granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiff. We affirm.
The "stringing” of pipe along the right-of-way was an integral part of the construction project (see, Nagel v Metzger, 103 AD2d 1, 9; Struble v John Arborio, Inc., 74 AD2d 55, 57). Plaintiff was not merely delivering materials to be stockpiled for future use (see, Sprague v Louis Picciano, Inc., supra) but was unloading and placing the pipe along the construction