Since we are now past the mid-point of 2016, it seems appropriate to note several 2016 Appellate Division rulings that were of particular interest.
Comparative Negligence
Thirteen years have passed since the Court of Appeals’ ruling in Blake v. Neighborhood Hous. Services of N.Y. City.1 Prior to Blake, the Court of Appeals had observed that in enacting Labor Law sections 240 and 241 the Legislature placed the “‘ultimate responsibility for safety practices at building construction jobs where such responsibility actually belongs, on the owner and the general contractor.’”2 (Labor Law section 240(1) imposes absolute liability for certain elevation-related work hazards, while Labor Law 241(6) is the so-called sister statute that imposes vicarious but not absolute liability for certain violations of the state regulatory standards that govern construction work.) In consequence, entities responsible for compliance with the statute (for the most part, site owners and general contractors) might be deemed responsible even when, as in Klein v. City of New York, the accident occurred solely because the plaintiff himself had placed a perfectly fine ladder on “gunk,” causing it to slip.3
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