New York partners Peter T. Shapiro, James H. Rodgers and associate Brian Pete won an appellate reversal in the New York Appellate Division Second Department in a high exposure personal injury case. The plaintiff longshoreman, an “employee” of an entity affiliated with our client, was crushed by a container being lowered by our client’s crane operator into the hold of a ship owned by the defendant.
February 11, 2016
New York partners Peter T. Shapiro, James H. Rodgers and associate Brian Pete won an appellate reversal in the New York Appellate Division Second Department in a high exposure personal injury case. The plaintiff longshoreman, an “employee” of an entity affiliated with our client, was crushed by a container being lowered by our client’s crane operator into the hold of a ship owned by the defendant. We had moved in the trial court for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint as well as defendant’s cross-claims based on, among other grounds, the preclusive effect under the Longshoreman’s Act (the LHWCA) of the payment of benefits pursuant to our client’s longshore policy to plaintiff, who was effectively our client’s employee. The trial court had denied the motion, holding that there was an issue of fact as to whether the affiliated company was our client’s alter ego, and permitted defendant to maintain cross-claims for indemnity against our client. The Appellate Division ruled unanimously that our client should be granted summary judgment dismissing the complaint and the cross-claims because the LHWCA precluded recovery against our client since our client’s policy paid the benefits and further that our client’s affiliated company was its alter-ego, such that plaintiff was our client’s employee who was barred from asserting common law negligence or other claims against our client.