Opinion
CA 03-01015.
November 21, 2003.
Appeal from that part of an order of Supreme Court, Erie County (Kloch, J.), entered January 10, 2003, that denied the motion of defendant for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
Kenney, Kanaley, Shelton Liptak, L.L.P., Buffalo (Thomas J. Cannavo of Counsel), for Defendant-Appellant.
Renaldo Myers, P.C., Williamsville (James I. Myers of Counsel), for Plaintiffs-Respondents.
Before: Present: Pigott, Jr., P.J., Green, Scudder, Kehoe, and Hayes, JJ.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
It is hereby Ordered that the order so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimously affirmed with costs.
Memorandum: Plaintiffs commenced this action seeking to recover damages for injuries sustained by Lewis J. Abad (plaintiff) while fighting a fire on premises owned by defendant. Plaintiffs seek to impose liability against defendant pursuant to General Municipal Law § 205-a and General Obligations Law § 11-106, both of which are legislative abrogations of the common-law "firefighter's rule," which had barred firefighters from recovering in negligence for injuries sustained in the line of duty ( see Giuffrida v. Citibank Corp., 100 N.Y.2d 72, 79; see generally Santangelo v. State of New York, 71 N.Y.2d 393, 396-397). Supreme Court properly denied defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. There are triable issues of fact concerning whether defendant violated the state and local building code provisions specified by plaintiffs, whether defendant was negligent, and whether the requisite causal link exists between such alleged code violations or negligence and plaintiff's injuries ( see Giuffrida, 100 N.Y.2d at 82-83; Brennan v. New York City Hous. Auth., 302 A.D.2d 483, 484; Baker v. Riverhouse Realty Co., 300 A.D.2d 214).