Lincho v. Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp.
Lincho v. Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp.
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff Licinio Lincho brings this action against the National Railroad Passenger Corporation and "Amtrak" (the name under which the National Railroad Passenger Corporation does business) ("Amtrak") for injuries resulting from his fall from a ladder at a construction site. Defendants move for summary judgment pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56.
I. BACKGROUND
A. Facts
The following facts are undisputed unless otherwise stated.
The City of New York is the owner of the Bryant Avenue Bridge located at 1165 Garrison Avenue in Bronx, New York. See The National Railroad Passenger Corporation and Amtrak's Responses to Plaintiff's First Set of Interrogatories, dated Dec. 13, *3482017 (annexed as Ex. 11 to Zemman Aff.) ("Def.'s Response to Pl.'s Interrogs."), No. 6; NY State Highway Bridge Data: October 31, 2017 (annexed as Ex. B to Def.'s Response to Pl.'s Intterogs.) ("NY State Highway Bridge Data"), 5. The Bryant Avenue Bridge runs over land owned by Amtrak. See Silva Aff. ¶ 6; Deposition of Carl Stypinski, dated April 20, 2018 (annexed as Ex. 7 to Zemann Decl.) ("Stypinski Dep."), 43; NY State Highway Bridge Data, at 5. Amtrak trains run underneath the Bryant Avenue Bridge on land that Amtrak owns. See Silva Aff. ¶¶ 6, 8.
In June 2014, the New York City Department of Transportation ("NYCDOT") awarded a contract for the rehabilitation of the Bryant Avenue Bridge to Judlau Contracting, Inc. ("Judlau"). See Letter from Polly Trottenberg, dated June 20, 2014 (annexed as Ex. 14 to Zemann Decl.). Judlau served as the general contractor on the project. Stypinski Dep. at 41. The contract involved the removal and reconstruction of the entire bridge superstructure, Silva Aff. ¶ 2, as well as concrete work and painting on the parapet walls underneath the bridge, Stypinski Dep. at 42-44. Judlau performed the project from August 2014 until July 2015. Silva Aff. ¶ 3.
In order to access the Bryant Avenue Bridge and to perform work underneath the bridge on the parapet walls, Judlau required access to Amtrak's land. See Silva Aff. ¶ 6. In exchange for a payment of $1000, Amtrak provided Judlau with a temporary permit to "enter" upon its property to do the bridge work. See National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Temporary Permit to Enter Upon Property, dated October 8, 2014 (annexed as Ex. 9 to Zemann Decl. and as Ex. 1 to Silva Aff.) ("Permit"), ¶¶ 1, 4. Amtrak could revoke the permit at any time. Id. ¶ 9. Judlau personnel required Amtrak ID cards to access the property. See Silva Aff. ¶ 7.
The Permit itself required compliance with numerous safety measures to ensure that Judlau's work did not interfere with the safe operation of the railroad. See Permit ¶¶ 6-8, 10, 12-13. The Permit required that "[a]ll work on, over, under, within or adjacent to" Amtrak's property be performed in accordance with a document titled "Specifications Regarding Safety and Protection of Railroad Traffic and Property." Id. ¶ 10. The Specifications listed various requirements related to safety. See Specifications Regarding Safety and Protection of Railroad Traffic and Property (annexed as Attachment A to Permit) ("Specifications"). For example, the Specifications required Judlau personnel to coordinate with Amtrak personnel in order to maintain safety around the tracks, including by attending a pre-entry meeting where Judlau was required to submit "plans, computations, a Site Specific Safety Work Plan and site-specific work plans that include a detailed description of proposed methods for accomplishing the work and protecting railroad traffic" for approval by Amtrak's Chief Engineer, Specifications ¶ 1; by consulting with Amtrak's Chief Engineer to arrange for Amtrak personnel to provide protection to Judlau workers in the form of Track Watchmen, Flagmen, Signalmen, and other protection personnel, id. ¶ 4; by requiring Judlau to obtain written permission from Amtrak to "foul" an active track, id. ¶ 6,
Amtrak and its employees had the authority to suspend or stop Judlau's work and to revoke Judlau's permission to enter Amtrak's premises upon Judlau's violation of the Railroad's safety rules, regulations and requirements. See Specifications ¶ 2; Stypinski Dep. at 21-22. In his deposition testimony, Carl Stypinski, who was assigned as Amtrak's project manager for the Bryant Avenue Bridge project, Stypinski Dep. at 31, gave several examples of instances in which he had "shut down a job," see id. at 22-23. In particular, Stypinski testified that he had "shut down a job" upon observing "[p]eople trying to set a crane up without having the proper authorization or inspections, people trying to climb a rickety ladder, like some homemade thing, people leav[ing] their messes around and that stuff can blow on the railroad and a train can hit it, and ... people going out on a bridge without having their safety harnesses on where there's a possibility they can fall ...." Id. at 23. In addition, Stypinski testified that if he observed a contractor without "proper personal protective equipment," he could "ask that person to leave, put their stuff on, and if they refuse, go home and have a nice day." Id.
On April 24, 2015, Lincho was employed by Judlau Contracting, Inc. and was assigned to work on the Bryant Avenue Bridge project. See Deposition Testimony of Licinio Lincho (annexed as Ex. 5 to Zemman Decl.) ("Lincho Dep"), 10-11. On that date, Lincho had been working on the Bryant Avenue Bridge project for approximately six months, id. at 16, and had been working for Judlau for seven years, id. at 10. Lincho testified that the only people who directed his work at the Bryant Avenue Bridge project were Benito Mendes, id. at 16-17, 39, a foreman with Judlau, id. at 16-17, and a super employed by Judlau, id. at 39-40. On April 24, 2015, Lincho was working on top of the Bryant Avenue Bridge. See id. at 23-24. At some point, Mendes directed Lincho to stop working on top of the bridge and to instead assemble a scaffold underneath the bridge out of two-by-four planks of wood. See id. Underneath the bridge structure, there were thin metal rods that resembled large screws spaced at regular intervals sticking out of the concrete parapet walls. See Photograph of Bridge (annexed as Ex. 6 to Zemman Aff.) ("Photograph of Bridge"). Lincho testified that the two-by-fours were already resting on these metal rods when he ascended the ladder to work. See Lincho Dep. at 36. His job was to nail these two-by-fours together to assemble a scaffold. Id. To perform this work, Lincho ascended an extension ladder that was placed on a stone surface underneath the bridge, at a height of approximately 15 or 16 feet. Id. at 24, 33. The ladder was not affixed by its feet or top to either a wall or the ground. Id. at 33. No one held the ladder while Lincho worked. Id. at 34. Lincho did not wear a safety harness while working on the ladder, and was not provided with one. Id. at 33.
While Lincho was working on the ladder, Mendes was directing him to work quickly. See id. at 33. While Lincho was on the ladder, he pulled an approximately 16-foot-long two-by-four plank that had been *350resting on a the metal rods to reposition it in order to nail it into the scaffold structure he was building. See id. at 35-38. As he pulled the two-by-four, it turned, and the end of the beam hit him in the chest, causing him to fall off the ladder and onto the tracks below him. Id. After he fell, a co-worker, Joao Martino, see id. at 22, helped him get up, id. at 39, and, at Mendes' direction, Lincho waited inside a container that Judlau employees used to change into their uniforms, see id. at 17-18, 40, until Mendes drove him home at the end of the workday, id. at 40-41. Lincho testified that he told Mendes that he wanted to go to the hospital but Mendes refused to take him, told him to wait, and told him that his pain and injury would pass. See id. at 40. Lincho testified that he asked Mendes to a write a report documenting the injury, but Mendes and Judlau's super refused for several days. See id. at 42-43. Lincho ultimately sought medical attention from his doctor three days after the accident. See id. at 42. Since the accident, Lincho testified that he has had pain in his neck, back, and shoulders, and has not been able to return to work. See id. at 43-49.
On December 30, 2015, Lincho brought suit against the City of New York and the NYCDOT in Bronx Supreme Court. See Notice of Commencement of Action, dated Dec. 30, 2015 (annexed as Ex. 3 to Zemann Aff.). Defendants prevailed on summary judgment because Lincho failed to file a timely notice of claim and failed to move for leave to file an untimely notice of claim before the expiration of the statute of limitations. See Lincho v. City of New York, No. 27151/2015, slip op., (Sup. Ct. Apr. 12, 2017) (annexed as Ex. 4 to Zemann Aff.).
B. Procedural History
1. The Instant Complaint
On May 24, 2017, Lincho filed his complaint against defendants The National Railroad Passenger Corporation and Amtrak in Supreme Court of the State of New York in Bronx County. See Complaint, dated May 24, 2017 (annexed as Ex. A to Notice of Removal, dated June 23, 2017 (Docket # 5) ("Notice of Removal") ) ("Compl."). On June 26, 2017, Amtrak removed the case to this Court. See Notice of Removal. Lincho sets forth four causes of action in his complaint: 1) common law negligence; 2) violation of Section 200 of the Labor Law of New York State; 3) violation of Section 240 of the Labor Law of the State of New York ; and 4) violation of Section 241 of the Labor Law of the State of New York based on a violation of Rule 23 of the Industrial Code of the State of New York. Compl.
Amtrak moved for summary judgment on all claims on July 12, 2018. Def. Not.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS
Granting summary judgment is appropriate when "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A genuine issue of material fact exists "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,
In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists, "[t]he evidence of *351the non-movant is to be believed" and the court must draw "all justifiable inferences" in favor of the nonmoving party. Anderson,
III. DISCUSSION
A. New York Labor Law §§ 240 and 241
New York Labor Law §§ 240 and 241"impose absolute liability on '[a]ll contractors and owners and their agents' for any breach of a statutory duty to provide safety measures that proximately cause an injury." Albanese v. City of New York,
The relevant text of Section 240 provides that:
All contractors and owners and their agents ... in the erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting, cleaning or pointing of a building or structure shall furnish or erect, or cause to be furnished or erected for the performance of such labor, scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys, braces, irons, ropes, and other devices which shall be so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper protection to a person so employed.
All contractors and owners and their agents ... when constructing or demolishing buildings or doing any excavating in connection therewith, shall comply with the following requirements: ... 6. All areas in which construction, excavation or demolition work is being performed shall be so constructed, shored, *352equipped, guarded, arranged, operated and conducted as to provide reasonable and adequate protection and safety to the persons employed therein or lawfully frequenting such places.
Neither section defines the term "owners." See
Consistent with this principle, the Court of Appeals has declined to find ownership under Sections 240 and 241 where the actual owner had no choice but to allow the injured party to enter its land. See Scaparo v. Vill. of Ilion,
1. Amtrak's Status as an "Owner"
As an initial matter, Lincho asserts that defendants have "wholly failed to disprove their ownership of the wall and the other areas underneath the bridge, where the work took place." Pl. Mem. at 6-7, ¶ 20; see Photograph of Bridge (showing what appears to be a parapet wall). As to the parapet wall on which Lincho was working, we will accept arguendo that ownership of the wall might impact on Amtrak's status as a statutory owner. See, e.g., Larosae v. American Pumping, Inc.,
Lincho, however, has not pointed to any evidence in the record to suggest that Amtrak owns the parapet walls attached to the bridge structure. In light of the uncontroverted evidence in the record showing that NYCDOT, not Amtrak, owned the bridge structure itself, Def.'s Response to Pl.'s Interrogs., No. 6; NY State highway Data, at 5, Lincho has failed to prove that Amtrak owns the walls on which Lincho was working.
With that point put to the side, Lincho's argument essentially boils down to the proposition that because the ladder from which Lincho fell was on land actually owned by Amtrak, Amtrak is necessarily an "owner" under the statute.
This argument has surface appeal but does not survive scrutiny. In Abbatiello v. Lancaster Studio Assocs.,
In his memorandum of law, see Pl. Mem. at 7-9, Lincho points to cases in which an owner of land was found to be liable as an "owner" where the owner's lessee, not the owner, contracted for the work to be performed. See Gordon v. E. Ry. Supply, Inc.,
The fact that Lincho's injury was caused by virtue of his falling onto the land owned by Amtrak is also not dispositive. For example, courts have declined to find a landowner liable as a statutory owner where an injury incidentally occurs on its property during the course of work on a structure located on an adjoining property. See, e.g., Berrios v. TEG Mgmt. Corp.,
While the parties have not pointed to a case that parallels the facts here, we find Albanese v. City of New York,
As was true in Albanese, Amtrak's granting of a license to enter its land to work on a bridge that it did not own, with the purpose of ensuring that Judlau's work did not interfere with railroad operations, see Specifications; Stypinski Dep. at 27, did not render Amtrak an "owner" within the meaning of Sections 240 and 241.
2. Liability as an Agent Under Labor Law §§ 240 and 241
Plaintiff argues that even if Amtrak is not an "owner" it should nonetheless be held liable as an "agent." Pl. Mem. at 9-14.
Under New York Labor Law §§ 240 and 241, an individual or entity can be held liable as an agent of an owner. See
Although sections 240 and 241 now make nondelegable the duty of an owner or general contractor to conform to the requirement of those sections ... the duties themselves may in fact be delegated .... When the work giving rise to these duties has been delegated to a third party, that third party then obtains the concomitant authority to supervise and control that work and becomes a statutory "agent" of the owner or general contractor. Only upon obtaining the authority to supervise and control does the third party fall within the class of those having nondelegable liability as an "agent" under sections 240 and 241.
Id. at 318,
Thus:
An agency relationship for purposes of section 240(1) arises only when work is delegated to a third party who obtains the authority to supervise and control the job. Where responsibility for the activity surrounding an injury was not delegated to the third party, there is no agency liability under the statute ....
Blake v. Neighborhood Hous. Servs.of New York City, Inc.,
Here, no reasonable jury could find that either Judlau or the NYCDOT, the general contractor and owner respectively, delegated to Amtrak supervisory control of the work Lincho was performing. There is no document in which Judlau or the City delegate such authority to Amtrak. The license under which Amtrak permitted Judlau's workers to enter its property does not involve Amtrak assuming any obligations previously undertaken by *356the City or Judlau. Rather, it circumscribes Judlau's work by limiting the manner in which it may perform its own work to ensure the safety of Amtrak's operations. For this reason alone, Amtrak cannot be found to be an agent.
Lincho makes a number of arguments that Amtrak should be found to have "controlled" the work by Judlau. Pl. Mem. at 10-12. These arguments are irrelevant, however, in that the delegation of control by Judlau or the City never occurred.
In any event, no reasonable jury could conclude that Amtrak exercised actual "control" over Lincho's work. Lincho's argument rests on testimony by Stypinski that he had the power to "shut down a job" if he saw unsafe activity. Pl. Mem. at 11. He argues that this testimony raises a triable question of fact as to whether Amtrak had the authority to " 'correct or prevent [the] unsafe condition' " that gave rise to Lincho's injuries See
Lincho's argument fails to distinguish between the power to stop work at a location or to enforce a license designed to protect Amtrak's operations and the "authority" referred to in Russin to "supervise and control" the work being done. See
The cases Lincho cites do not support his argument. In Walls v. Turner Const. Co.,
In other cases cited by plaintiff, the courts actually ruled against the plaintiff because of the same kind of failure of proof exhibited by plaintiff here. Thus, Russin found that three prime contractors at a worksite were not liable as an agents, noting that agency can be found only where the contractor "obtain[s] the authority to supervise and control" the work.
The case of Blake v. Neighborhood Hous. Servs. of New York City, Inc.,"
In sum, there is no basis on which Amtrak could be found liable as an "agent" of an owner or contractor.
C. Common Law Negligence and Liability Under §§ 200
Amtrak also moves for summary judgment on Lincho's § 200 and common law negligence claims.
" Section 200 of the Labor Law merely codified the common-law duty imposed upon an owner or general contractor to provide construction site workmen with a safe place to work ...." Russin,
"Cases involving Labor Law § 200 fall into two broad categories: namely, those where workers are injured as a result of dangerous or defective premises conditions at a work site, and those involving the manner in which the work is performed." Ortega v. Puccia,
"Where a premises condition is at issue, property owners may be held liable for a violation of Labor Law § 200 if the owner either created the dangerous condition that caused the accident or had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition that caused the accident."
"[W]hen the manner of work is at issue, no liability will attach to the owner solely because [he or she] may have had notice of the allegedly unsafe manner in which work was performed." Ortega,
For the reasons just discussed, there is no evidence that Amtrak had authority to "supervise or control" the work. Lincho cites to Humphrey v. Park View Fifth Ave. Assocs. LLC,
This case is much more analogous to Comes v. New York State Elec. & Gas Corp.,
For these reasons, plaintiff has not shown that Amtrak is liable under section 200 or for common law negligence.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, Amtrak's motion for summary judgment (Docket # 22) is granted. All of Lincho's claims therefore are dismissed with prejudice. The Clerk of the Court is requested to enter judgment.
SO ORDERED.
See The National Railroad Passenger Corporation and Amtrak's Notice of Motion for Summary Judgment, dated July 2, 2018 (Docket # 22) ("Def. Not."); Declaration of Daniel Zemann, Jr. in Support of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation and Amtrak's Motion for Summary Judgment, dated July 2, 2018 (Docket # 23) ("Zemann Decl."); The National Railroad Passenger Corporation and Amtrak's Memorandum of Law in Support of Summary Judgment, dated July 2, 2018 (Docket # 24) ("Def. Mem."); Affidavit of Jorge Silva, dated June 20, 2018 (Docket # 25) ("Silva Aff."); Plaintiff's Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment, dated July 25, 2018 (Docket # 28) ("Pl. Mem."); Memorandum of Law in Reply to Plaintiff's Opposition and in Further Support of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation and Amtrak's Motion for Summary Judgment, dated August 13, 2018 (Docket # 29) ("Def. Reply").
"Fouling a track" is defined by federal regulation as "the placement of an individual or an item of equipment in such proximity to a track that the individual or equipment could be struck by a moving train or on-track equipment, or in any case is within four feet of the field side of the near running rail."
At least one court has broadly stated that "an owner is one who has an interest in the property and who fulfilled the role of owner by contracting to have the work performed for his benefit." Ogden v. City of Hudson Indus. Dev. Agency,
Lincho also cites Wallace v. National R.R. Passenger Corp.,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Licinio LINCHO v. NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORPORATION, and Amtrak,.
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published