In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendants appeal from stated portions of an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Schmidt, J.), dated July 10, 2002, and, as limited by their brief, from so much of an order of the same court dated December 17, 2002, as, upon reargument, adhered to those portions of the order dated July 10, 2002, as granted the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the cause of action based on Labor Law § 240 (1) and denied that branch of their motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action based on Labor Law § 240 (1), and the plaintiff cross-appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of the order dated December 17, 2002, as,
Ordered that the appeal from the order dated July 10, 2002, is dismissed, without costs or disbursements, as it was superseded by the order dated December 17, 2002, made upon reargument; and it is further,
Ordered that the order dated December 17, 2002, is modified, on the law, by deleting the provision thereof granting that branch of the defendants’ motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the cause of action based on Labor Law § 241 (6) alleging a violation of 12 NYCRR 23-3.3 (c) and substituting therefor a provision denying that branch of the motion; as so modified, the order dated December 17, 2002, is affirmed insofar as appealed and cross-appealed from, without costs or disbursements, and the order dated July 10, 2002, is modified accordingly.
The plaintiff was an employee of the third-party defendant All State Demolition, a subcontractor to the general contractor, the defendant Barney Skanska Construction Co. (hereinafter Barney Skanska), hired to perform demolition work at a building owned by the defendant AT&T Corp., sued herein as AT&T Communications of New York, Inc. (hereinafter AT&T). The plaintiff was removing a large heavy air conditioning duct attached to the ceiling by burning through the metal rods supporting it. He stood directly underneath the duct, which was located in a narrow corridor. The bottom of the duct was anywhere from 20 inches to 5 feet above the top of his head. There were no safety devices used to lower the duct, but two wooden OSHA planks might have been used to help support the duct and provide warning that it was about to fall. According to the plaintiff, the duct started coming down, and as he attempted to get out of the way, he slipped on demolition debris and the duct fell on top of him.
The plaintiff commenced this action against AT&T and Barney Skanska, based on Labor Law §§ 240, 241 (6), and § 200 and common-law negligence. The plaintiff moved for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the cause of action based on Labor Law § 240 (1). At the same time, the defendants moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. By order dated
Contrary to the defendants’ assertion, the plaintiff was engaged in the type of elevation-related work contemplated by Labor Law § 240 (1) that required the use of safety devices (see Narducci v Manhasset Bay Assoc.,
With respect to the alleged Industrial Code violations, the Supreme Court properly dismissed the causes of action based on Labor Law § 241 (6) alleging violations of 12 NYCRR 23-1.7 (d), (e), 23-2.1, 23-3.3 (g), and subpart 23-6. Section 23-1.7 (d) (Slipping Hazards) is inapplicable because the demolition debris upon which the plaintiff slipped was not the type of foreign substance contemplated by this provision (see D’Acunti v New York City School Constr. Auth.,
The Supreme Court, however, erred in dismissing the cause of action based on Labor Law 241 (6) alleging a violation of 12 NYCRR 23-3.3 (c) (Inspection). Contrary to the defendants’ assertion, this subsection applies to the demolition work being performed,by the plaintiff. Moreover, “[t]he thrust of this subdivision is to fashion a safeguard, in the form of ‘continuing inspections’, against hazards which are created by the progress of the demolition work itself’ (Monroe v City of New York,
In opposition to the defendants’ prima facie showing of entitlement to dismissal of the plaintiff’s causes of action based on Labor Law § 200 and common-law negligence, the plaintiff failed to raise any material issues of fact that the defendants had any notice of a defective or dangerous condition, or exercised supervision or control over the work being performed (see Rizzuto v Wenger Contr. Co.,
