Fernandez v. 213 East 63rd Street LLC
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff established his entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Plaintiff submitted evidence, including his deposition testimony, showing that while installing black iron into a concrete ceiling, the A-frame ladder that he was using “kicked out” from underneath him, causing him to fall to the ground (see Panek v County of Albany, 99 NY2d 452, 458 [2003]).
Defendants’ opposition failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of his injuries. Even assuming that defendants presented sufficient evidence to raise a triable issue as to whether at the time of his accident, plaintiff, contrary to his deposition testimony, was using the ladder by leaning it against the wall in a folded position, defendants nonetheless offered no evidence that plaintiff was ever instructed not to use the ladder in this manner (see e.g. Cuentas v Sephora USA, Inc., 102 AD3d 504 [1st Dept 2013]).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.