Perri and Popadiuk Defeat General Contractor’s Motion for Summary Judgment in Trip and Fall Case
Plaintiff allegedly tripped as a result of a depressed, mis-leveled and broken street caused by a crane and its outriggers and outrigger pads. Our clients owned the adjacent premises. We successfully argued that the language in the purported contracts that the general contractor relied on contradicted the affidavit of the general contractor’s principal, specifically with respect to whether it brought any equipment or trucks to the adjacent premises, whether it performed any work in the street abutting the adjacent premises, and whether it controlled the work of any of its subcontractors. Furthermore, the general contractor failed to establish that it subcontracted out all the construction work, including construction of the actual structure or that crane work was excluded. Finally, the contractual provisions demonstrated that the general contractor had control or the right to control the construction means, methods, techniques, sequences, and procedures, and for coordinating all portions of the work as well as initiating, maintaining, and supervising all safety precautions and programs.
Carl M. Perri
Gregory J. Popadiuk