As I previously wrote, the New York Court of Appeals in Rodrigues v. N & S Building Contractors, Inc. fleshed out a lot of issues concerning the written indemnification contract exception of Workers’ Compensation Law sec. 11 (Download workers_comp. law sec. 11.doc).  For one thing, the Court made clear that it will strictly interpret the literal terms of the statute, as it did before with respect to the "grave injury" exception.  The Court also determined that parties can use a blanket-type written indemnification agreement (one that does not specify a specific worksite) and still comply with the statute if the factual circumstances demonstrate that the parties intended the agreement to apply to the subject worksite.  Also underlying the Court’s decision is its recognition of looking to a course of conduct in determining whether the parties had a contract.  There is also a procedural issue I would like to address in another post.  However, for now, I am posting below the papers that were before the Court. 

N & S Building Contractor, Inc.’s Appellant’s Brief (Download SCAN_35301167_000.pdf)

Exhibits to Appellant’s Brief (Download SCAN_35301175_000.pdf)

Caldas’ Respondent’s Brief (Download SCAN_35301165_000.pdf)

N & S Building Contractors, Inc.’s Reply Brief (Download SCAN_35301166_000.pdf )

The Indemnification Agreement (Download SCAN_35301173_000.pdf)

New York State Builders Association Amicus Brief (Download SCAN_35301176_000.pdf)