Wade Clark Mulcahy LLP

WCM attorneys Mike Bono and Abed Bhuyan recently secured summary judgment in Nassau County Supreme Court on the basis of the homeowners exemption to the Labor Law.

Hoskins et al v. Matteini, et al arises out of an alleged worksite accident at a Garden City single-family residence that was undergoing a gut renovation before the homeowner and his family moved in.  Plaintiff, a delivery driver who was not routinely on the site, alleged he was passing moulding through the front window of the premises to another worker on site when he fell through plywood into a window well causing him injuries.

Working with our client the homeowner, Wade Clark Mulcahy moved for summary judgment on the basis of the Labor Law’s exemption for owners of one- and two-family dwellings who contract for, but who do not direct or control the work.  The plaintiffs moved for summary judgment on liability on the Labor Law §§ 240 and 241(6) claims against the general contractor, which cross moved for summary judgment.

The Court granted plaintiffs’ motion as against the general contractor on liability, denied the general contractor’s cross motion, and granted our motion after plaintiffs failed to raise a triable issue of fact.

That the Court granted plaintiffs’ motion on liability as against the general contractor underscores the importance of working with our homeowner clients and moving for summary judgment on the basis of the statutory exemption designed precisely to protect homeowners who did not control or supervise work done on their homes from liability for an alleged workplace accident.