Security Guard’s Injury Action Docked By Older Safety Standards (NY)

In Schmidt v. One New York Plaza Co. LLC, the Appellate Division, First Department reaffirmed that in order to find a building owner liable for violations of building safety standards, a plaintiff must show violation of specific standards in existence at the time the building was built — and not at the time of the loss.

Plaintiff was assigned as a security guard at New York Plaza with his bomb-sniffing dog on the day of his accident. He was charged with inspecting trucks as they sought entry to the loading dock at the premises. Plaintiff was walking down the service ramp with his dog when a delivery person was ascending the ramp. Plaintiff took a step that came down on the outer edge of the ramp, causing him to lose his balance and fall backward off the ramp.

In support of its motion for summary judgment, defendant building owner submitted an expert architect’s report which concluded that the design and construction of the ramp did not violate the New York City Building Code or any industry-wide standard. More specifically, defendant’s expert opined that neither the Building Code nor OSHA contained sections specifically applicable to the instant facts. In opposition, plaintiff stated that its expert would testify that the ramp was defective and in violation of “good, proper, and accepted building and engineering standards” for ramps in equivalent buildings and was in violation of the New York City Building Code and industry standards at the time of construction.

The motion court denied defendant’s motion on the grounds that its expert, while addressing the New York City Building Code and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, failed to address other types of industry-wide standards that might be applicable. However, the Appellate Division, First Department reversed, holding that plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact to defeat summary judgment as to a violation of any industry-wide standard at the time of construction. Plaintiff’s expert failed to “offer concrete proof of the existence of the relied upon standard as of the relevant time, such as a published industry or professional standard or evidence that such a practice had been generally accepted in the relevant industry at the relevant time.”

Thanks to Sara Matschke for her contribution to this post and please write to Mike Bono for more information.