Matt secured summary judgment for multiple defendants in a high-exposure construction-site personal injury action arising from renovation and construction work at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, one of the state’s most complex and highly regulated construction environments.

The plaintiff alleged that a defective ramp within one of the airport terminals forced him to manually lift an approximately 400-pound crate over an expansion joint, resulting in serious injury. Matt successfully demonstrated that the evidence did not support the existence of a dangerous or defective condition and that the ramp itself did not cause the accident.

The Supreme Court adopted Matt’s arguments and held that the plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of his injuries, finding that the ramp merely furnished the occasion for the incident rather than constituting a hazardous condition or statutory violation. Because the plaintiff’s own conduct was the superseding cause of the accident, the court granted summary judgment dismissing the claims against the defendants.

This decision underscores critical defenses in New York construction accident litigation, including the sole proximate cause doctrine, the distinction between a dangerous condition and a condition that merely provides the setting for an accident, and the importance of evidentiary proof in defeating claims based on alleged site defects.

Practice Impact: The ruling provides valuable guidance to insurers, claims adjusters, and defense counsel handling construction and renovation claims—particularly in large-scale infrastructure projects—by reinforcing defenses that can eliminate liability at the summary judgment stage and avoid costly trial exposure.

Photo by Jacques Le Gall