Fourth Department – Negligence: Castle v. Swarfiguer

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New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department

Negligence — Third-party defendant — Question of fact

Castle v. Swarfiguer

CA 25-00369

Appealed from Supreme Court, Oneida County

Background: The plaintiff commenced an action seeking damages for injuries he sustained when a temporary basement staircase collapsed underneath him. The plaintiff alleged the staircase had been negligently installed several weeks before the accident by the defendant-third-party, who was hired to help install the home’s HVAC and plumbing systems. The third-party defendant appealed from the denial of its motion for summary judgment.

Ruling: The Appellate Division affirmed. The court noted triable issues of fact were raised in the third-party defendant’s own submissions. Specifically, testimony revealed that the third-party defendant did not provide detailed instructions on how to install the staircase but did instruct to use as few fasteners as possible, which caused the installation of the staircase with only two screws.

Thomas J. Daviau, of Sugarman Law Firm, for the third-party defendant-appellant; James J. Gascon, of Costello, Cooney & Fearon, for the third-party plaintiff-respondent.

Oral argument video