Philip Tower v Structure Tone, LLC
Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
A construction-site trip-and-fall case involving New York Labor Law § 241(6) [requires owners and contractors to provide reasonable and adequate protection and safety to construction workers and permits claims based on violations of specific Industrial Code provisions], based on Industrial Code (12 NYCRR) §§ 23-1.7(e)(1) and 23-1.7(e)(2) [require passageways and working areas to be kept free of tripping hazards], along with related indemnification disputes among the general contractor and subcontractors.
The trial court dismissed plaintiff's Labor Law § 200 and common-law negligence claims against Structure Tone, denied plaintiff partial summary judgment on the Labor Law § 241(6) claim, allowed that § 241(6) claim to proceed, conditionally granted Structure Tone contractual defense and indemnity against Jacobson and ABCO, and denied Jacobson summary judgment on its claims against ABCO.
The Appellate Division modified the order only to grant plaintiff partial summary judgment on liability under Labor Law § 241(6) against Structure Tone and TGA 730 Third Avenue Owner LLC; all other appealed rulings were affirmed.
The undisputed evidence showed that plaintiff tripped over a loose 18-inch sprinkler pipe lying on the floor, along with debris, in the only route and working area near stacked doors he had to access. That condition violated the cited Industrial Code provisions, and the integral-to-the-work doctrine did not apply because the pipe was an avoidable hazard, not an inherent part of plaintiff's task.
Background
Philip Tower, an employee of Jacobson & Company, Inc., was sent to retrieve a new door from Jacobson's sixth-floor storage area at a construction project. As he turned away from stacked doors while holding an approximately eight-foot door, he tripped over an unattached black sprinkler pipe on the floor and broke his foot. The floor area also contained sheetrock debris and cardboard. Tower sued the general contractor, Structure Tone, LLC, and the owner, TGA 730 Third Avenue Owner LLC. Structure Tone then brought third-party claims against subcontractors Jacobson and ABCO Peerless Sprinkler Corporation for contractual defense and indemnity, and Jacobson asserted cross-claims against ABCO for common-law indemnity and contribution.
Lower Court Decision
Supreme Court, New York County, granted Structure Tone summary judgment dismissing the Labor Law § 200 and common-law negligence claims against it, denied plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment on the Labor Law § 241(6) claim, denied the owner's and Structure Tone's requests to dismiss that claim, conditionally granted Structure Tone summary judgment on contractual defense and indemnity against Jacobson and ABCO, denied Jacobson's request to dismiss Structure Tone's contractual indemnity claims, and denied Jacobson summary judgment on its cross-claims against ABCO.
Appellate Division Reversal
The Appellate Division held that plaintiff established entitlement to summary judgment on the Labor Law § 241(6) claim because the loose pipe and debris constituted tripping hazards in a passageway and, at minimum, in a working area under 12 NYCRR §§ 23-1.7(e)(1) and (e)(2). The court rejected the argument that the pipe was integral to the work, explaining that the doctrine applies only when the condition is inherent in the task itself, not when an avoidable hazard is created by negligence. The court otherwise affirmed, including the conditional contractual indemnification in favor of Structure Tone against Jacobson and ABCO and the denial of Jacobson's motion regarding common-law indemnity and contribution claims.
Legal Significance
The decision reinforces that loose construction materials or debris on a floor can qualify as actionable tripping hazards under Industrial Code §§ 23-1.7(e)(1) and (e)(2), especially where the worker must use the area to access materials. It also emphasizes the narrow reach of the integral-to-the-work doctrine after Bazdaric v Almah Partners LLC, and confirms that conditional contractual indemnification may be granted where the injury arose at least in part from a subcontractor's work or cleanup obligations, even if the general contractor's own negligence remains unresolved.
When a worker trips over loose materials left on the floor in a required access or work area, owners and contractors may face liability under Labor Law § 241(6), and subcontractors connected to the condition may owe contractual indemnity.