Attorney Tara Arianna Johnson's Legal Cases

Personal injury

Matuszewski v. City of New York, 163 A.D.3d 546 (2d Dept. 2018), app. dismissed, 32 N.Y.3d 1075

Jul 05, 2018

OUTCOME: Appellate court affirmed denial of plaintiff's motion to vacate order dismissing case

On July 5, 2018, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the denial of plaintiff’s motion to vacate or, alternatively, modify the trial court’s conditional order of preclusion and a final or ... der of preclusion of the same court directing dismissal of the complaint. Plaintiff was allegedly injured at work when he tripped on construction materials at a job site and fell into an uncovered hole. Plaintiff commenced suit against defendants alleging violations of the New York State Labor Law and common law negligence. Throughout the course of discovery, plaintiff failed to comply with numerous court orders directing him to provide necessary discovery, including an amended bill of particulars and authorizations to obtain his medical records. Defendants moved pursuant to CPLR 3126 to strike plaintiff’s complaint due to his failure to provide the court-ordered discovery. The Second Department rejected plaintiff’s contentions that he “substantially complied” with his discovery obligations and affirmed the Supreme Court’s order dismissing his complaint.

Insurance

Touro College and United Educators v. Arch Specialty Insurance Company et al., (New York County Sup. Ct., May 11, 2018)

May 11, 2018

OUTCOME: Summary Judgment granted to defendant

On May 11, 2018, Justice Lebovitz granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, holding that the property owner was entitled to defense coverage for a personal injury action as an additional insured ... under a general contractor’s commercial general liability policy. The general contractor, All Pro Design & Construction, obtained a CGL policy containing a blanket additional insured endorsement applicable to “those persons or organizations who are required under a written contract with you to be named as an additional insured, but only with respect to liability for ‘bodily injury’, ‘property damage’, or ‘personal and advertising injury’ caused, in whole or in part by your acts or omissions or the acts or omissions of your subcontractors.” Touro’s contract with All Pro required All Pro to name “Touro College” as an additional insured under “[All Pro]’s insurance policies, such insurance to include: (i) all risk builder’s insurance… and (ii) hazard (including fire) insurance.” ARCH declined to provide defense or indemnity coverage to Touro for the personal injury claim, asserting that All Pro was not contractually required to name Touro as an additional insured under the CGL policy, but only the all risk builder’s insurance and hazard insurance policies specifically referenced in the contract. Justice Lebovitz rejected this argument, holding that the plain language of the contract required All Pro to name Touro as an additional insured on its policies, and the fact that the policy procurement provision went on to specify the types of policies that All Pro must provide did not restrict the preceding clause, which called for coverage under all policies obtained by All Pro generally.

Personal injury

Reeps v. BMW of N. America, LLC, 2018 NY Slip Op 02907 (1st Dept. April 26, 2018)

Apr 26, 2018

OUTCOME: Appellate court reversed and remanded denial of defendant's summary judgment motion

On April 26, 2018, the Appellate Division, First Department issued a decision reversing the trial court’s denial of BMW’s motions for summary judgment as untimely filed. Prior court orders and stipula ... tions between the parties show that the parties, with the court’s consent, charted a course that deviated from the CPLR and allowed for defendants’ motions to be filed more than 120 days after the filing of the note of issue. The matter was remanded to the trial court for resolution of the motions on the merits.

Wrongful death

Mercedes T. Guillen v. 100 Church Fee Owner, LLC, et al., 2017 NY Slip Op 31426(U) (New York County Sup. Ct., July 5, 2017)

Jul 05, 2017

OUTCOME: Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment denied

In a decision dated July 5, 2017, Justice Manuel J. Mendez denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on his Labor Law §§200, 240(1) and 241(6) claims, as well as his claim for common law negligenc ... e. The action arose out of a fatal construction accident in which the decedent, an employee of third-party defendant Star Wars Technology System Corp., was standing on the top step of a six-foot A-frame ladder when his co-worker fell off an adjacent ladder, causing the decedent to fall to the concrete ground below and die immediately on impact. In opposition to plaintiff’s motion, counsel for 100 Church Street, the owner of the building where the accident occurred, argued that plaintiff’s moving papers relied on hearsay consisting of an unauthenticated, redacted OSHA report, an autopsy report, and incident report. Judge Mendez agreed, concluding that plaintiff failed to meet his prima facie burden via admissible evidence. He further noted that there remained issues of fact as to whether the decedent was performing work in the scope of his employment with Star Wars, whether the ladder he was standing on was defective, and whether the decedent was the sole proximate cause of his injuries by choosing to stand on the top of a six-foot A-frame ladder. Judge Mendez also granted 100 Church’s cross-motion for summary judgment on its claim for common law indemnification against the decedent’s employer, and on its claim for failure to procure insurance as against another subcontractor.

Construction and development

Moskowitz v. Skanska USA Building Inc., et al., Index No. 159599/2015, 2017 WL 2951688 (New York County Sup. Ct., July 3, 2017)

Jul 03, 2017

OUTCOME: Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment denied

In a decision dated July 3, 2017, Justice Robert Reed denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on his claims for breach of contract, strict liability pursuant to Section 28-3309.4 of the Administ ... rative Code of the City of New York, and attorneys’ and experts’ fees. This action arises out of a construction project at 151 Mercer Street, New York, New York, where defendant Tory Burch seeks to build its flagship store. The plaintiff, Moskowitz, is the alleged owner of the adjacent building located at 153 Mercer Street. He claims that his building has been damaged due to defendants’ installation of piles at the 151 Mercer Site. In the decision denying plaintiff’s motion, Justice Reed held that plaintiff had not met his prima facie burden by the submission of admissible evidence proving causation – i.e., that the alleged damage to his building was caused by defendants’ conduct. In opposition, the defendants (including Skanska USA Building), submitted sufficient evidence, including witness affidavits and DOB records, to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether – and if so, to what extent – defendants’ construction activity caused any damage to plaintiff’s building.

Personal injury

Heavey v. A.J. Pegno Construction Corp., et al., Index No. 24910/2011 (Queens County Sup. Ct., Aug. 18, 2016)

Aug 18, 2016

OUTCOME: Summary Judgment granted to defendant dismissing plaintiff's negligence and Labor Law claims

In a decision dated August 18, 2016, Justice Marguerite A. Grays granted summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint against the defendant, a joint venture consisting of Slattery Skanska, Inc ... ., John P. Picone, Inc., James McCullagh Co., Inc., Picone/McCullagh Joint Venture and Perini Building Company, Inc. In the complaint, the plaintiff brought causes of action against the joint venture for common law negligence and pursuant to Labor Law §§200 and 241(6). The plaintiff, a New York City Department of Environmental Protection employee, sought damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained when he slipped and fell on ice while entering a building at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn, New York. In granting the motion, the Court held that because the plaintiff was not employed for the purpose of performing construction or repairs, he was not a member of a class protected by Labor Law §§200 and 241(6). In dismissing the common law negligence claim, the Court held that the defendant joint venture owed no duty of care to the plaintiff because he was not a third-party beneficiary to the contract between the joint venture and the NYCDEP.

Personal injury

Rodriguez v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, et al., Index No. 162629/2015 (New York Co. Sup. Ct., Aug. 10, 2016)

Aug 10, 2016

OUTCOME: Petitioner's motion for leave to file late notices of claim against NYC agencies denied

In a decision dated August 10, 2016, Justice Michael D. Stallman denied the motion of the petitioners seeking leave to file late notices of claim against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Metr ... opolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction Company, New York City Transit Authority, Long Island Railroad and the City of New York. The petitioner sought damages for personal injuries he allegedly sustained during construction on the East Side Access Project. Specifically, the petitioner claimed that he was standing on a mantrip that came to a complete stop at or about East 55th Street inside the East Side Access Tunnel when a locomotive rear-ended the mantrip, causing the petitioner’s body to be jolted from one side to the other. In denying the petitioners’ motion, the Court held that the petitioners did not set forth a reasonable excuse for failing to serve a timely notice of claim, nor did they demonstrate that the respondents acquired actual notice of the essential facts of their claim within 90 days of the accident. Moreover, the Court noted that, even if one of the respondents had acquired actual notice, such knowledge could not have been imputed to each of the other respondents, which are distinct and separate entities from one another.

Personal injury

Edwards Buntin, Diane v. New York City Transit Authority, Index No. 0400274/07 (New York Co. Sup. Ct., July 15, 2015)

Jul 15, 2015

OUTCOME: Summary Judgment granted to defendant dismissing plaintiff's negligence claim

In a decision dated July 15, 2015, Justice Michael D. Stallman granted summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff's complaint against the City of New York. The plaintiff commenced a common law negligen ... ce action seeking to recover for personal injuries allegedly sustained while descending a stairway into a subway station. The defendants established that the plaintiff's accident occurred during an ongoing rainstorm, and the plaintiff failed to raise any triable issues of fact as to the cause of her accident. As such, the court held that the "storm in progress" doctrine applied, thus suspending the City's duty to maintain the stairway and barring the plaintiff's claim.

Tara Arianna Johnson's Legal Cases (8)

Matuszewski v. City of New York, 163 A.D.3d 546 (2d Dept. 2018), app. dismissed, 32 N.Y.3d 1075

Touro College and United Educators v. Arch Specialty Insurance Company et al., (New York County Sup. Ct., May 11, 2018)

Reeps v. BMW of N. America, LLC, 2018 NY Slip Op 02907 (1st Dept. April 26, 2018)

Mercedes T. Guillen v. 100 Church Fee Owner, LLC, et al., 2017 NY Slip Op 31426(U) (New York County Sup. Ct., July 5, 2017)

Moskowitz v. Skanska USA Building Inc., et al., Index No. 159599/2015, 2017 WL 2951688 (New York County Sup. Ct., July 3, 2017)

Heavey v. A.J. Pegno Construction Corp., et al., Index No. 24910/2011 (Queens County Sup. Ct., Aug. 18, 2016)

Rodriguez v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, et al., Index No. 162629/2015 (New York Co. Sup. Ct., Aug. 10, 2016)

Edwards Buntin, Diane v. New York City Transit Authority, Index No. 0400274/07 (New York Co. Sup. Ct., July 15, 2015)