Dicasoli v. Bovis Lend Lease LMB, Inc. and CRP/Extell Parcel I, LP.

Bovis Lend Lease LMB, Inc. and CRP/Extell Parcel I, L.P.
Supreme Court, Queens County

Jaime Lehrer of our New York office was successful in her motion for summary judgment, dismissing plaintiff's complaint wherein the plaintiff tripped and fell over an exposed electrical pipe protruding from the concrete floor at a construction site. Plaintiff alleged that the subject pipe was sticking up eight inches from the floor. Plaintiff brought action against the site's construction manager and owner alleging violations of common law negligence, as well as Labor Law §§200 and 241(6).

Ms. Lehrer argued that plaintiff's claims premised upon common law negligence and Labor Law §200 were without merit inasmuch as neither Bovis nor Extell controlled plaintiff's work at the time of the accident. It was also submitted that the eight inch pipe was an open and obvious condition upon which liability could not be premised, especially in light of plaintiff's extensive experience in the field of construction. Finally, it was argued that plaintiff's Labor Law §241(6) cause of action, founded upon a purported violation of Industrial Code §23-1.7, should be dismissed as a matter of law because the accident occurred in an open area and the pipe was embedded into the concrete floor pursuant to electric work taking place on site. (June 2011)