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Heath v. County of Orange

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Jun 12, 2000
273 A.D.2d 274 (N.Y. App. Div. 2000)

Opinion

Submitted April 17, 2000.

June 12, 2000.

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Orange County (Peter C. Patsalos, J.), dated December 13, 1999, which denied his motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability on the first cause of action which was to recover damages for a violation of Labor Law § 240(1).

Lewis Stanzione, Catskill, N.Y., for appellant.

Drake, Sommers, Loeb, Tarshis Catania, P.C., Newburgh, N Y (Richard F. Liberth and Stephen J. Gaba of counsel), for respondent.

Before: FRED T. SANTUCCI, J.P., MYRIAM J. ALTMAN, GABRIEL M. KRAUSMAN, SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, JJ.


DECISION ORDER

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.

Contrary to the plaintiff's contention, the Supreme Court properly denied his motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability on the first cause of action which was to recover damages for a violation of Labor Law § 240(1). The plaintiff's evidentiary submissions, which consisted primarily of his testimony at the hearing held pursuant to General Municipal Law § 50-h, were insufficient to establish the manner in which the accident occurred and how the plaintiff's injuries were sustained. Thus it cannot be determined, as a matter of law, that the plaintiff's injuries were caused by a gravity-related accident within the intended scope of Labor Law § 240(1) (see, Ross v. Curtis-Palmer Hydro Elec. Co., 81 N.Y.2d 494; Rocovich v. Consolidated Edison Co., 78 N.Y.2d 509). Moreover, since the plaintiff moved for summary judgment before the defendant had an opportunity to conduct any discovery, under the circumstances of this case, summary judgment would be premature at this point (see, CPLR 3212[f]; Hoxha v. City of New York, 265 A.D.2d 379).


Summaries of

Heath v. County of Orange

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Jun 12, 2000
273 A.D.2d 274 (N.Y. App. Div. 2000)
Case details for

Heath v. County of Orange

Case Details

Full title:LARRY HEATH, APPELLANT, v. COUNTY OF ORANGE, RESPONDENT

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Jun 12, 2000

Citations

273 A.D.2d 274 (N.Y. App. Div. 2000)
709 N.Y.S.2d 847

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