The primary focus of most litigation in the United States is on the defendant’s liability to the plaintiff. In the unique world of New York Labor Law claims, however, risk transfer issues among defendants and third-party defendants often become the main event. In fact, defendant-only mediations have become more and more prevalent, as the defense-side parties attempt to work out priority of payment, percentage of liability and other coverage and indemnification issues before involving the plaintiff in negotiations.
New York Labor Law imposes absolute, non-delegable liability for gravity-related construction site injuries on property owners and general contractors. As such, if a plaintiff is able to prove they suffered a Labor Law accident, liability is a foregone conclusion and the owner and/or general contractor are strictly responsible unless they are able to effectively transfer that risk to a downstream contractor. The downstream contractor(s) are typically named as third-party defendants (colloquially referred to as an “action over”).
