PMT Obtains Significant Victory for Union Paymasters, Reinforcing Limits on Contractual Indemnification Exposure

By John T. Kalin and Anu Bhargava.

Pillinger Miller Tarallo, LLP secured a significant appellate victory in the Appellate Division, First Department, obtaining full dismissal of contractual indemnification claims asserted against its client in a multi-party construction accident action.

In Max Stewart v. JMDH Real Estate Offices, LLC, et al. (Appellate Division, First Department, Index No. 159073/2020 – PMT: Construction, Labor Law, and Complex Multi-Party Litigation), the plaintiff alleged injuries after tripping over a raised Masonite board positioned in a doorway that served as the sole access point to a work area. The First Department reinstated the plaintiff’s Labor Law § 241(6) claim and granted him partial summary judgment, holding that the raised Masonite constituted an obstruction in a passageway under Industrial Code § 23 1.7(e)(1).

The Court also addressed the defendants’ third party indemnification claims. Critically, the First Department affirmed dismissal of all contractual indemnification claims against PMT’s client, Construction Resources Corp. of New York (CRC). The Court held that the defendants failed to establish that the accident “arose out of” CRC’s work as required by the subcontract.

The Court underscored that CRC’s role was strictly administrative limited to supplying union labor, serving as paymaster, and providing workers’ compensation coverage. CRC exercised no supervision, control, or involvement in the means and methods of the work that allegedly caused the accident. Because CRC was not engaged in the operative work, the indemnification claim could not stand.

This decision reinforces PMT’s strong track record in construction and Labor Law litigation, particularly in defending subcontractors and administrative entities from unwarranted contractual indemnification exposure through precise, strategic appellate advocacy.

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Should you have any questions, please call our office at (914) 703-6300 or contact:

Marc H. Pillinger, Executive Partner
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Jeffrey T. Miller, Executive Partner
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Jeffrey D. Schulman, Executive Partner
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Richard J. Freire, Executive Partner
rfreire@pmtlawfirm.com