Garcia v. Fed LI, LLC
The injured plaintiff, Jose Garcia, and his wife, suing derivatively, initiated an action after Mr. Garcia fell from an unsecured extension ladder while working on a commercial property. The property was owned by Fed LI, LLC, GSM LI, LLC, ICA LI, LLC, and SAF LI, LLC, and leased by Multi Packaging Solutions, Inc., with Mr. Garcia employed by J.P.S. Electric Co., Inc. (JPS). The plaintiffs moved for summary judgment on the issue of liability under Labor Law § 240 (1), which the Supreme Court denied. The Appellate Division reversed this part of the order, granting summary judgment to the plaintiffs, finding that a violation of Labor Law § 240 (1) was established and was a proximate cause of the injuries, as the defendants failed to provide adequate safety devices or rebut the prima facie showing of negligence. The Appellate Division affirmed the lower court's decision regarding contractual indemnification, ruling that JPS was not contractually obligated to indemnify the MPS entities, as a post-accident purchase order's general reference to 'Terms and Conditions' was insufficient to establish a retroactive indemnification agreement.