Summary Judgment Denied In NY Construction Site Accident

In Raccah v. Barbizon Hotel Associates, L.P., the plaintiff was sitting on the windowsill in the hallway of an apartment building when three door panels fell onto her right leg. The panels were being stored in the hallway, leaning against a wall, due to ongoing construction on the premises.

The owner and the construction manager moved for summary judgment arguing that they had no duty to the plaintiff, that they did not breach any duty of care and that they had no actual or constructive notice of the condition in the hallway. The court denied the motion because the owner of the building had a duty of care toward the plaintiff and that there was a an issue of fact as to whether the owner had notice of the stored panels on an occupied floor. The construction manager’s motion was denied because it had a supervisor role over the construction at the premises and it hired the subcontractor that was retained to install the subject panels.

Thanks to Maju Varghese for his contribution to this post.

http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/pdfs/2010/2010_32587.pdf