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Case Law Database

Access over workers' compensation decisions, including En Banc, Significant Panel Decisions, and writ-denied cases.

Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision
Jan 22, 2013

Verdon v. Port Authority of New York & New Jersey

Plaintiff sustained injuries after falling 14 feet from a trailing platform due to a broken guardrail. The court granted partial summary judgment to the plaintiff, finding a prima facie violation of Labor Law § 240 (1) as the guardrail proved inadequate. The defendants' arguments regarding an unwitnessed accident not barring summary judgment and the rejection of a superseding cause defense were dismissed. However, the third-party defendants and second third-party defendant (lumber suppliers) were granted summary judgment, dismissing the complaints against them due to insufficient evidence to identify the specific lumber supplier for the broken guardrail, as lumber was commingled and discarded before inspection.

Labor Law § 240(1)Summary JudgmentGuardrail FailureConstruction AccidentFall from HeightThird-Party LiabilityLumber SupplierSuperseding CauseEvidentiary StandardUnwitnessed Accident
References
11
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

United States v. Doe

This case involves an antitrust investigation into the linen supply industry in the New York Metropolitan area. Grand Jury subpoenas were served on various linen supply companies (Suppliers), their association (Linen Supply Institute of New York), and a union (Laundry Workers International Union, Local 284 AFL). The Suppliers, Association, and Union filed motions to quash or modify these subpoenas, citing unreasonableness, oppressiveness, and jurisdictional doubts. District Judge McGOHEY largely denied these motions, asserting the Grand Jury's broad investigative powers and confirming the reasonableness of the subpoena's scope and timeframe. However, the court did grant limited relief by exempting documents already possessed by the Government and by narrowing certain demands related to the Union's internal financial data.

AntitrustGrand JurySubpoena Duces TecumQuashing SubpoenaModifying SubpoenaLinen Supply IndustryLabor UnionInterstate CommerceJudicial DiscretionDepartment of Justice
References
23
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Rivers v. AT&T Technologies, Inc.

Nelly Doris Medina died from toxemia complications during pregnancy, allegedly due to workplace exposure to dimethylformamide (DMF) and negligent medical care. Her estate's administrator sued E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company (DuPont), a bulk supplier of DMF, among other manufacturers, the employer, and medical providers. DuPont sought summary judgment, arguing it fulfilled its duty to warn by informing sophisticated intermediaries and lacked control over the altered product. Separately, New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation (NYCHHC) moved to dismiss a pain and suffering claim based on an untimely notice. The court granted DuPont's motion, affirming the bulk supplier doctrine, and denied NYCHHC's motion, ruling the notice of claim was timely given the appointment delay and lack of prejudice.

Bulk Supplier DoctrineDuty to WarnProduct LiabilityChemical ExposureWrongful DeathSummary JudgmentNotice of ClaimSophisticated UserIntermediary DoctrineToxic Tort
References
14
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

F.D. Import & Export Corp. v. M/V REEFER SUN

A New York corporation, F.D. Import & Export Corp., brought an admiralty and maritime action seeking damages for a shipment of bananas from Ecuador to Ukraine. F.D. Import alleged breach of a Purchase Agreement by suppliers and breach of Charter Party and Bills of Lading by carriers, resulting in damaged cargo. Defendants moved to dismiss the action or stay proceedings pending arbitration, citing clauses in the Charter Party and Bills of Lading. The court found that F.D. Import was bound by a broad arbitration clause in the Charter Party and Bills of Lading through constructive notice, leading to the dismissal of claims against carrier defendants for arbitration. However, claims against supplier defendants, related to the condition of the fruit before shipment and governed by the Purchase Agreement, were not subject to arbitration, and the court denied the motion to stay proceedings for these claims, allowing them to continue in litigation.

Admiralty lawMaritime lawArbitration agreementBills of LadingCharter PartyBreach of contractCargo damageInternational tradeForum selection clauseFederal Arbitration Act
References
23
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Harleysville Worcester Mutual Insurance v. Bank of America, N.A. Ex Rel. Fleet National Bank (In Re Suprema Specialties, Inc.)

Plaintiffs, Harleysville Worcester Mutual Insurance Company and Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Insurance Company (the Sureties), appealed a Bankruptcy Court order that granted summary judgment to the Bank Group. The Sureties sought to recover $3.8 million paid under a bond for the debtor Suprema Specialties, Inc.'s obligations to milk suppliers, arguing they had superior claims through equitable subrogation or an express trust. The District Court affirmed the Bankruptcy Court's decision, holding that the Bonded Transaction Assets were part of Suprema's bankruptcy estate and subject to the Bank Group's priority liens. The court found the Sureties were only subrogated to the unsecured rights of the milk supplier, Allied, and their subrogation rights became fixed post-petition. Furthermore, the court concluded that no express trust was created, citing the lack of an identifiable trust res and the permissive commingling of funds by Suprema.

Equitable SubrogationExpress TrustBankruptcy EstateSecured CreditorPriority LienSurety BondPayment GuaranteeSummary JudgmentAppellate ReviewDebtor-in-Possession
References
25
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Ramaglia v. New York State Department of Transportation

Petitioners, including union representative Joseph Ramaglia, requested payroll records from a steel company under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) through the Department of Transportation (DOT). They sought to determine if the steel company, a contractor for overpass replacement on the Long Island Expressway, was violating prevailing wage laws. DOT denied the request, stating it neither possessed nor was required to collect these records, as the steel company was merely a materials supplier, not directly involved in public works construction. Petitioners commenced a CPLR article 78 proceeding to compel DOT to obtain and produce the records. The Supreme Court dismissed their application, agreeing that DOT had no obligation to the supplier's records. On appeal, the court affirmed, ruling that the prevailing wage law does not apply to contracts for the sale of goods, even custom or shop-finished products, especially when such work is a normal part of manufacturing and not typically done on-site.

Freedom of Information LawFOIL RequestPublic Works ContractPrevailing Wage LawMaterials SupplierPayroll RecordsCPLR Article 78Administrative LawAppellate ReviewLabor Law
References
5
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Stein v. Baumann

Plaintiffs Stein and Albanese, operators of yarn winding businesses, initiated actions to enjoin a defendant union from picketing their premises and disrupting deliveries from suppliers. The union, through its organizer Weintraub and official Epstine, threatened the plaintiffs with picketing and delivery cessation unless they signed union contracts, without making a bona fide effort to organize the employees themselves. Following the commencement of picketing in October 1956, four of the plaintiffs' suppliers indeed halted deliveries, leading the court to conclude that the union's primary objective was unlawful coercion of employers to compel employees to join the union. Finding that the plaintiffs lacked an adequate remedy at law due to ongoing business disruption and unquantifiable damages, the court granted an injunction, prohibiting all picketing for three months and permanently enjoining interference with yarn and supply deliveries. However, the court denied the plaintiffs' claims for money judgments, citing insufficient evidence to accurately determine the extent of their damages.

InjunctionLabor DisputeUnion PicketingUnlawful Union ObjectiveCoercion (Union)Employer-Employee RightsFreedom of Association (Employees)Organizational PicketingInterference with BusinessAdequacy of Legal Remedy
References
3
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

Gray v. Cleaning Systems and Suppliers, Inc.

This personal injury suit involves James Gray, a truck driver injured by falling paper products during unloading. He received workers' compensation and then sued the customer, who subsequently filed third-party complaints against Gray's employer, Trans-Carrier Truck Lines, and the shipper, Georgia-Pacific Corporation. The employer and shipper moved for summary judgment. The court granted the employer's motion, dismissing claims against it based on Tennessee's workers' compensation exclusivity law, conditioned on its cooperation for fault assessment, but denied the shipper's motion due to insufficient evidence of non-negligence. The court also found the indemnity agreement between the shipper and employer inapplicable and encouraged alternative dispute resolution.

Personal InjurySummary JudgmentWorkers' CompensationThird-Party ClaimsChoice of LawTennessee LawNew York LawIndemnity AgreementNegligenceEmployer Liability
References
19
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision

In re the Claim of Clese

Claimant, an investment banker involved in funding airport capital improvements, was terminated after a decrease in bond demand post-9/11. She sought extended unemployment benefits under the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act (TEUC-A) for displaced airline-related workers. The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board denied her claim, concluding her employment was not airline-related within the statute's definition. The appellate court affirmed this decision, finding that the claimant's employer, a securities firm, did not qualify as a 'supplier' to an air carrier under TEUC-A because her services were primarily for airport authorities, with only an indirect benefit to air carriers.

Unemployment BenefitsTemporary Extended Unemployment CompensationTEUC-AAirline IndustryDisplaced WorkersEligibility CriteriaStatutory InterpretationSupplier DefinitionAirport FinancingAppellate Review
References
3
Case No. MISSING
Regular Panel Decision
Oct 25, 2000

Chiarello v. J&D Leasing Co.

Plaintiff, a truck driver employed by an electrical materials supplier, was injured when an elevated tailgate on his truck collapsed, causing him to fall four feet while delivering a heavy copper reel to a subcontractor on a construction project. The Supreme Court, Bronx County, denied the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment under Labor Law § 240 (1) and granted the defendants’ cross motions for summary judgment, dismissing that cause of action. This decision was unanimously affirmed on appeal, with the court holding that the plaintiff was not a member of the class of workers nor performing the type of work intended to be protected by Labor Law § 240 (1).

Labor Law § 240 (1)Summary JudgmentConstruction AccidentFall from HeightTruck Driver InjuryWorker ProtectionStatutory InterpretationElevated TailgateMaterial DeliveryScope of Labor Law
References
8
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