ALLIGOOD v. HOSPITALITY WEST

It is hereby ORDERED that the order so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimously affirmed with costs.

Memorandum: Plaintiffs commenced this action to recover damages for injuries sustained by Ottis Alligood (plaintiff) when the ladder that he was using to repair an inoperable refrigeration unit slid on ice where the ladder had been placed, causing him to fall. Supreme Court properly granted plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment on Labor Law § 240 (1) liability. Plaintiffs met their burden of establishing that the ladder was not "so . . . placed . . . as to give proper protection to" plaintiff ( id.; see Klein v. City of New York, 89 N.Y.2d 833, 835; Morin v. Machnick Bldrs., 4 A.D.3d 668, 670; Lang v. Chas. Mancuso Son, 298 A.D.2d 960, 961). Defendants Hospitality West, LLC, and Pizza Realty Trust, c/o Haufler Associates, failed to raise a triable issue of fact whether plaintiff's conduct was the sole proximate cause of the accident ( see Fernandes v. Equitable Life Assur. Socy. of U.S., 4 A.D.3d 214, 215; Evans v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 277 A.D.2d 874). "Plaintiff's alleged contributory negligence has no bearing on defendants' liability under the statute" ( Lang, 298 A.D.2d at 961; see Kazmierczak v. Town of Clarence, 286 A.D.2d 955, 955-956).