By Anu Bhargava.
Pillinger Miller Tarallo, LLP obtained a strong appellate result in the Appellate Division, First Department, securing dismissal of contractual indemnification claims asserted against its client in a construction accident case.
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 he was injured after tripping over a raised Masonite board while walking through a doorway serving as the sole passageway to a work area.
The Appellate Division reinstated the plaintiff’s Labor Law § 241(6) claim and granted him partial summary judgment on that claim, finding that the raised Masonite board constituted an obstruction in a passageway in violation of Industrial Code § 23-1.7(e)(1).
However, the Court also ruled on the third-party claims asserted against subcontractors and related entities. Significantly, the Court affirmed dismissal of the contractual indemnification claim against PMT’s client, Construction Resources Corp. of New York, holding that the defendants failed to demonstrate that the plaintiff’s accident arose out of CRC’s work as required under the indemnification clause.
The Court emphasized that CRC’s role on the project was limited to supplying union labor, acting as paymaster, and providing workers’ compensation insurance. Because there was no evidence that CRC controlled the means and methods of the work or was otherwise engaged in the work that caused the accident, the contractual indemnification claim could not stand.
This decision highlights PMT’s continued success in construction and Labor Law litigation, particularly in defending subcontractors from unwarranted contractual indemnification exposure through strategic appellate advocacy.
Court: Appellate Division, First Department
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