Summary Judgment Granted on Special Employee Doctrine
2007

By: Matthew B. Kogan

On June 18, 2007, The Honorable Leon Ruchelsman, Supreme Court of the State of NY, Kings County granted summary judgment in Ryan, Paul v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., Sarnelli Brothers, Inc. and NAB Construction Corporation. On behalf of Sarnelli Brothers, Inc., O&B moved that summary judgment be granted on the grounds that plaintiffs were special employees of Sarnelli and thus barred by Worker's Compensation Law §11 from a lawsuit against the contractor.

Plaintiffs were involved with the installation of guardrails to be used as a safety measure for the removal of a boiler. During the boiler removal, a cable snapped causing injury to plaintiffs who, despite being paid by an outside payroll company, received direction and supervision only from Sarnelli Brothers. Plaintiffs' case was thwarted by their own deposition testimony. Plaintiffs confirmed that they reported each morning to a Sarnelli representative, took direction from Sarnelli employees, and confirmed that their supervisor was employed by Sarnelli. O&B's Matthew Kogan relied on the question of fact and of law that Sarnelli Brothers was indeed a "special employer" of plaintiffs in as much as plaintiffs' testimony unmistakably established them as such.

(Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.)