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Isnardi v. Genovese Drug Stores, Inc.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Sep 29, 1997
242 A.D.2d 672 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)

Opinion

September 29, 1997

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Newmark, J.).


Ordered that the appeal by Joe Demasco from the order dated July 2, 1996, is dismissed, as those parts of the order from which he appeals were superseded by the interlocutory judgment entered October 2, 1996; and it is further,

Ordered that the order dated July 2, 1996, is affirmed insofar as reviewed; and it is further,

Ordered that the interlocutory judgment entered October 2, 1996, is modified, on the law, by deleting the provision thereof which unconditionally granted the motion of the defendant third-party plaintiff Robbins Cowan, Inc., for summary judgment against the third-party defendant Joe Demasco on the issue of indemnification, and substituting therefor a provision granting the motion conditionally in the event that the plaintiff recovers against Robbins Cowan, Inc.; as so modified, the interlocutory judgment is affirmed insofar as appealed from; and it is further,

Ordered that Robbins Cowan, Inc., is awarded one bill of costs.

The appeal by Joe Demasco from the intermediate order must be dismissed because the right of direct appeal therefrom terminated with the entry of an interlocutory judgment in the third-party action ( see, Matter of Aho, 39 N.Y.2d 241, 248). The issues raised on Demasco's appeal from the order are brought up for review and have been considered on the appeal from the interlocutory judgment (CPLR 5501 [a] [1]).

The plaintiff, Thomas Isnardi, injured while performing demolition work, commenced this action against the defendants Genovese Drug Stores, Inc. (hereinafter Genovese), the owner of the premises, and the project's general contractor, Robbins Cowan, Inc. (hereinafter Robbins Cowan). By order entered January 2, 1996, the Supreme Court granted the plaintiff summary judgment against these defendants on the issue of liability pursuant to Labor Law § 240 (1), and, on appeal, we reversed ( see, Isnardi v. Genovese Drug Stores, 242 A.D.2d 671 [decided herewith]).

The general contractor thereafter commenced a third-party action for indemnification against its demolition subcontractor, Joe Demasco, the plaintiff's employer on the date of the accident. The Supreme Court correctly found that Robbins Cowan should prevail on its third-party claim against Demasco. While the record indicates that Robbins Cowan had a foreman at the work site at all times, the evidence which it submitted in support of its motion demonstrated that neither the foreman nor any of its other employees exercised control over the manner in which the plaintiff performed his work. Accordingly, the general contractor is conditionally entitled to common-law indemnification from the subcontractor Demasco in the event that the plaintiff recovers from it in the main action ( see, Bello v Lefrak, 236 A.D.2d 571; Rice v. PCM Dev. Agency Co., 230 A.D.2d 898; Richardson v. Matarese, 206 A.D.2d 354).

The general contractor is also entitled to contractual indemnification pursuant to the indemnification clause of the parties' agreement, which required Demasco to indemnify it "for any claims arising out of or resulting from the performance of the subcontractor's work" regardless of whether the subcontractor had actually been negligent ( see, Brown v. Two Exch. Plaza Partners, 76 N.Y.2d 172). Moreover, the general contractor is conditionally entitled to indemnification based upon Demasco's undisputed breach of his contractual obligation to procure liability insurance naming Robbins Cowan as an additional insured ( see, Kinney v. Lisk Co., 76 N.Y.2d 215; Khan v. Convention Overlook, 232 A.D.2d 529; DiMuro v. Town of Babylon, 210 A.D.2d 373).

The parties' remaining contentions are without merit.

Sullivan, J.P., Pizzuto, Friedmann and Krausman, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Isnardi v. Genovese Drug Stores, Inc.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Sep 29, 1997
242 A.D.2d 672 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
Case details for

Isnardi v. Genovese Drug Stores, Inc.

Case Details

Full title:THOMAS ISNARDI, Plaintiff, v. GENOVESE DRUG STORES, INC., Appellant, and…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Sep 29, 1997

Citations

242 A.D.2d 672 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997)
662 N.Y.S.2d 790

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