Murphy v. Tahoe Development Corp.
Opinion of the Court
Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
To prevail on a cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240 (1), a plaintiff must establish that the statute was violated, and that the violation was a proximate cause of his or her injuries (see Blake v Neighborhood Hous. Sews. of N.Y. City, 1 NY3d 280, 287 [2003]). Here, the plaintiff established his prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating that he was injured when one of the rungs of the wooden A-frame ladder he was using broke, causing him to fall to the ground (see Winegrad v New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 NY2d 851, 853 [1985]; Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 562 [1980]).
In opposition, the defendants failed to submit evidence in admissible form sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the plaintiffs actions were the sole proximate cause of his injuries (see Gallagher v New York Post, 14 NY3d 83 [2010]; Chabla v 72 Greenpoint, LLC, 101 AD3d 928 [2012]; see also Friends of Animals v Associated Fur Mfrs., 46 NY2d 1065, 1068 [1979]). Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted that branch of the plaintiffs motion which was for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240 (1) (see Alvarez v Prospect Hosp., 68 NY2d 320, 324 [1986]; Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d at 562). Mastro, J.E, Angiolillo, Leventhal and Chambers, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.