Justice Barbara Jaffe
Plaintiff Farias, employed by third-party defendant Guttilla Contracting Ltd., was performing construction work on a single-family home owned by the defendants when the scaffolding on which he was standing collapsed and he fell to the ground and was injured. The defendants denied that they may be held liable in negligence for Farias' injuries, as they neither controlled nor supervised Guttilla's work and they intended to use the property as a second home when the accident occurred and therefore may not be held liable under the Labor Law pursuant to the homeowner's exemption. The court found that defendants have shown that they may not be held liable under the negligence or Labor Law §200 claims since they neither instructed Guttilla's employees as to the manner in which they performed their work nor provided them with any equipment. The court also found the defendants exempt from liability under Labor Law §§240(1) and 241, as they intended to use the property as a second home.
