Shanahan v. Crestonia Construction Corp.

Headnote

Negligence — ■injury to employee of contractor on building through defect■ in runway — sufficiency of evidence that owner adopted runway as his own and permitted contractors to use it.

Shanahan v. Crestonia Constr. Corpn., 207 App. Div. 680 , affirmed.

Appeal from an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the second judicial department, entered February 29, 1924, reversing a judgment in favor of defendant entered upon a dismissal of the complaint by the court at a Trial Term and granting a new trial in an action to recover for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained by plaintiff through the negligence of defendant, who at the time of the happening of the accident to the plaintiff was engaged in the construction of five houses. There was no general contractor. The work of constructing the buildings was let out to different contractors, each taking a contract to perform that portion of the work involved in his own fine of work. The stone mason who laid the foundation constructed a runway from the street into tffe buildings or courtyard between the buildings out of materials furnished by the defendant. When that contractor finished his work he left the runway as he had constructed it. Thereafter subsequent contractors made use of this runway with the defendant’s knowledge. The defendant also made use of it. The plaintiff is a steamfitter and in the employ of a firm having the contract to do the steamfitting. He was engaged in carrying some heavy iron pipe from the street into the building when, as he was walking along the runway or as he was about to lower the pipe into the basement, one of the planks in the runway tilted and the plaintiff was precipitated into the

basement and received the injuries complained of. The Appellate Division held that the evidence would have permitted the jury to find that the defendant adopted the runway as its own and permitted subsequent contractors to use it.