In Sigal v. Brokaw (11839/2006), Anatoily Sigal, a painter who was working in the defendant’s cooperative unit, was injured as the result of a fall from a scaffold. Kings County Justice Martin Schneier held that the defendants were entitled to a dismissal of Labor Law §240(1) claims.
The Court cited to an earlier decision in the Second Department in Maciejewski v. 975 Park Ave. Corp., which held that cooperative unit owners are statutorily exempt from Labor Law claims under the exception for “owners of one and two-family dwellings who contract for but do not direct or control the work.” Here, it was undisputed that the Brokaws did not “direct or control the work,” warranting dismissal.
Thanks to Chris O’Leary for his contribution to this post.