Important Recent Case Law for New York

Wednesday, August 13, 2014 | 0

NEW! Pittman v. S.P. Lenox Realty, 2013-00673, (07/23/2014): A New York appellate court ruled that the owners and managers of a property where a worker was fatally burned while varnishing floors were entitled to summary judgment in their favor on the Labor Law claim brought by the worker's widow.

NEW! Sepulveda-Vega v. Suffolk Bancorp, 2013-07051, (07/23/2014): A New York appellate court ruled that an armored car courier could not hold a bank liable in tort for his alleged injury from lifting a bag of coins.

NEW! Adika v. Beth Gavriel Bukharian Congregation, 2013-06941, (07/23/2014): A New York appellate court ruled that a synagogue was entitled to summary judgment dismissing a worker's Labor Law claim based on his alleged fall from a ladder while installing decorative panels at its yeshiva.

NEW! Perla v. Daytree Custom Builders, 2013-02964, (07/16/2014):A New York appellate court ruled that a worker who fell from the roof of a house was not entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim because a triable issue existed as to whether the defendant in his claim was an alter ego of his employer.

NEW! Jorquera v. Fannwood Estates, 2013-01166, (07/16/2014): A New York appellate court ruled that the alleged employer of an injured worker was not entitled to summary judgment on a third-party indemnity and contribution claim against it as long as a triable issue existed as to whether the worker was its employee.

NEW! Caiazzo v. Mark Joseph Construction, 2013-00248, (07/16/2014): A New York appellate court ruled that an injured construction worker was properly allowed to proceed with some of his claims against the owner and occupant of a residence at which he was working when he was injured, but that none of his claims against his employer were viable as a matter of law.

NEW! Brownrigg v. New York City Housing Authority, 012-07446 and 2012-11068, (07/02/2014): A New York appellate court ruled that a defendant was not liable for interest on the award of damages for a worker's Labor Law claim from the date that the jury issued him the award because there had not yet been a finding of liability for a Labor Law violation due to the case's unusual procedural history.

NEW! Winters v. Advance Auto Parts, 517862, (07/03/2014): A New York appellate court overturned a decision by the Workers' Compensation Board to deny benefits to an injured worker on the basis that the worker had detached himself from the labor market.

NEW! Gottlieb v. Merrigan, 518119, (07/03/2014): A New York appellate court ruled that the state may be able to exercise personal jurisdiction over a Massachusetts attorney who allegedly negotiated the settlement of a carrier's workers' compensation lien with a New York self-insurance trust in order to resolve his client's personal injury suit in Massachusetts.

NEW! Rosario v. Montalvo & Son Auto Repair Center, 2012-10849, (06/25/2014): A New York appellate court ruled that a determination by the Workers' Compensation Board as to whether a worker was an "employee" of the auto repair center where he was injured was not binding in the Supreme Court proceedings on the worker's tort claim against his alleged employer.

NEW! Smith v. Oneida Limited, 517263, (07/03/2014): The widow of a worker with a compensable lung injury was entitled to benefits after he died from sepsis due to respiratory failure, a New York appellate court ruled.

NEW! Kharie v. South Shore Record Management, 2013-05809, (06/25/2014): A worker who fell while dismantling a free-standing shelving unit in a warehouse was entitled to summary judgment in his favor on his Labor Law claim, a New York appellate court ruled.

NEW! Matter of Mosley v. Hannaford Brothers Co., 517175, (07/03/2014): A retail worker who became the target of a murder-for-hire plot and an internal investigation by his employer based on his alleged affair with a colleague was entitled to an award of benefits for the resulting psychological distress that prevented him from continuing to work, a New York appellate court ruled. 

Penaranda v. 4933 Realty, No. 100963/10 590179/11, 06/24/2014, A New York appellate court ruled that a worker who suffered injuries when he was thrown from the back of a front-end loader suffered the sort of "gravity-related" harm that the Labor Law was designed to guard against. 

Jerez v. Tishaman Construction Corp. of New York, 302192/10 12874, (06/24/2014): A carpenter who fell while working on the construction of the new World Trade Center was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim, a New York appellate court ruled. 

Smith-Lerner v. Art Students League of New York, 2013-07796, (06/18/2014): A New York appellate court ruled that an art class model was not barred from proceeding with a civil lawsuit for her work-related injuries despite having reached a settlement for the workers' compensation claim she had previously filed. 

Ercole v. New York State Police, 517827, (06/19/2014): A New York appellate court ruled that an insurance carrier who failed to respond to a request for authorization for surgery for a former police officer could shift liability for the cost of the procedure to the Special Fund for Reopened Cases.

Sanchez v. Palmiero, 2012-07996, (06/18/2014): A homeowner was not entitled to summary judgment on a roofer's Labor Law claim against him since there was a triable issue of fact as to whether the property would be used solely for residential purposes, a New York appellate court ruled. 

Soriano v. St. Mary's Indian Orthodox Church of Rockland, 106667/11, (06/17/2014): A New York appellate court ruled that a veteran glazier who fell while replacing the glass in the skylight of a church was entitled to summary judgment in his favor on his Labor Law claim.

Matter of Hazan v. World Trade Center Volunteer Fund, 04103, (06/05/2014): Advocacy groups for responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are applauding a New York appellate court decision that an emergency medical technician who responded to Ground Zero on his own volition may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits for the health conditions he later developed.

Mejia v. Camabo Industries, 03897, (05/29/2014) and Difilippo v. Con Edison, 03898, (05/29/2014): A New York claimant firm is out $750 after twice being sanctioned by the Appellate Division's 3rd Judicial Department. The Appellate Division's 3rd Department upheld penalties in both cases, explaining that the chair of the board "has controlling authority to designate hearing places." 

Matter of Logan v. Westchester Medical Center, 517957, (05/22/2014): A New York appellate court overturned a $500 sanction against a claimant's attorney for pursuing a consequential injury claim, finding the claim was not frivolous, although the court upheld the finding that the injury was not a consequence of the claimant's prior compensable accident. 

Matter of Williams v. Lloyd Gunther Elevator Service, 517793, (05/22/2014):A workers' compensation carrier may begin taking a credit against claimant's net recovery from a third-party action on the date the carrier consented to the third-party settlement, a New York appellate court ruled.