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Partner Kevin Mescall Obtains Summary Judgment in Labor Law Action

Posted: May 7, 2019

Partner Kevin Mescall successfully obtained summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint in connection with a Labor Law action.  The case stemmed from a construction site accident.  Plaintiff, a glass partition installer, claimed he sustained serious injuries when he was caused to fall while walking over a pile of sprinkler pipes.  The complaint alleged causes of action under Labor Law sections 200, 240(1) and 241(6), as well as common law negligence. Our client was a subcontractor responsible for installing the sprinkler pipes. The general contractor on the job had testified that he believed the pipes belonged to our client. He further testified that this area was closed off to all workers other than those specifically performing work in the area. Kevin Mescall moved for summary judgment on behalf of the client. He argued that the Labor Law did not apply inasmuch as 1) The pile of pipes was not a work platform, and 2) that plaintiff neither fell from a height or was struck by an object that had fallen from a height.  Kevin also argued that plaintiff’s actions were the sole proximate cause of the accident. The court granted the motion for summary judgment and dismissed plaintiff’s complaint in its entirety, finding in part that plaintiff’s conduct was the sole proximate cause of his own accident.

 

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