Morales v. D & A Food Service

Mazzarelli, J.P., and Sweeny, J.,

concur in a separate memorandum by Mazzarelli, J.P., as follows: I concur in the result reached by the majority, upon constraint of recent precedent from this Court (Sanatass v Consolidated Inv. Co., Inc., 38 AD3d 332 [2007]; Ahmed v Momart Discount Store, Ltd., 31 AD3d 307 [2006]). Those holdings allowed “owners,” who would otherwise be liable under Labor Law § 240 (1), to avoid statutory responsibility to a person injured while engaged in covered work. This avoidance of statutory liability was accomplished by reliance on provisions in leases which required…