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Gilligan v. Builders

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.
Dec 19, 2019
178 A.D.3d 566 (N.Y. App. Div. 2019)

Opinion

10619 Index 154536/15

12-19-2019

John GILLIGAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CJS BUILDERS, et al., Defendants–Respondents, CJS Industries Ltd., et al., Defendants. [And a Third–Party Action] CJS Industries, Inc., etc., Second Third–Party Plaintiff–Respondent, v. Complete Construction Contracting Corp., Second Third–Party Defendant–Appellant. 11 West 42 Realty Investors, LLC, Third Third–Party Plaintiff, v. Complete Construction Contracting Corp., Third Third–Party Defendant–Appellant.

Hannum Feretic Prendergast & Melino, LLC, New York (Steven R. Dyki of counsel), for appellant. Law Office of James J. Toomey, New York (Michael J. Kozoriz of counsel), for respondents.


Hannum Feretic Prendergast & Melino, LLC, New York (Steven R. Dyki of counsel), for appellant.

Law Office of James J. Toomey, New York (Michael J. Kozoriz of counsel), for respondents.

Friedman, J.P., Webber, Gesmer, Kern, JJ.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (David B. Cohen, J.), entered March 30, 2018, which, to the extent appealed from as limited by the briefs, granted the cross motion of defendant/second third-party plaintiff CJS Industries, Inc. t/a CJS Builders (CJS) for summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs' common-law negligence and Labor Law § 200 claims as against it, and on its third-party claim for contractual indemnity against second and third third-party defendant Complete Construction Contracting Corp. (Complete), unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiff John Gilligan was injured when he fell several feet from a scaffold. This accident arose out of the means and methods of his work, and not, as Complete contends, a dangerous or defective premises condition (see Cappabianca v. Skanska USA Bldg. Inc., 99 A.D.3d 139, 144, 950 N.Y.S.2d 35 [1st Dept. 2012] ). Accordingly, since CJS showed that it did not exercise the requisite degree of control over the means and methods of the work in which Gilligan was engaged at the time of his accident, CJS was entitled to summary judgment dismissing the common-law negligence and Labor Law § 200 claims (see Francis v. Plaza Constr. Corp., 121 A.D.3d 427, 428, 994 N.Y.S.2d 74 [1st Dept. 2014] ; Alonzo v. Safe Harbors of the Hudson Hous. Dev. Fund Co., Inc., 104 A.D.3d 446, 449, 961 N.Y.S.2d 91 [1st Dept. 2013] ).

In view of the foregoing, CJS also established its entitlement to full contractual indemnification from Complete pursuant to the express terms of its indemnification agreement (see Guzman v. 170 W. End Ave. Assoc., 115 A.D.3d 462, 463, 981 N.Y.S.2d 678 [1st Dept. 2014] ; see generally Masciotta v. Morse Diesel Intl., 303 A.D.2d 309, 310, 758 N.Y.S.2d 286 [1st Dept. 2003] ).

We have considered Complete's remaining contentions and find them unavailing.


Summaries of

Gilligan v. Builders

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.
Dec 19, 2019
178 A.D.3d 566 (N.Y. App. Div. 2019)
Case details for

Gilligan v. Builders

Case Details

Full title:John Gilligan, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CJS Builders, et al.…

Court:Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.

Date published: Dec 19, 2019

Citations

178 A.D.3d 566 (N.Y. App. Div. 2019)
112 N.Y.S.3d 487
2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 9105

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