In re World Trade Ctr. Lower Manhattan Disaster Site Litig.

In re World Trade Ctr. Lower Manhattan Disaster Site Litig.

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART NEW YORK UNIVERSITY'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ALVIN K. HELLERSTEIN, U.S.D.J.:

In this action, Mieczyslaw Dabrowski asserts claims of common law negligence and violations of sections 200 and 241(6) of the New York Labor Law based upon injuries that he allegedly suffered after working in various buildings in lower Manhattan following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Dabrowski [*56]  sues New York University ("NYU"), owner of the building located at 100 Trinity Place, alleging that NYU was negligent in its remediation of the premises, resulting in the use of inadequate safety equipment and procedures at the location. NYU has moved for summary judgment on the grounds that, inter alia, it owed no duty to Dabrowski under the common law or New York Labor Law. For the following reasons, NYU's motion is granted in part and denied in part.

I. Background

I have previously provided, in detail, the facts relevant to the numerous summary judgment motions filed in this litigation. See In re World Trade Ctr. Lower Manhattan Disaster Site Litig. ("Socha"), 44 F. Supp. 3d 409 (S.D.N.Y. 2014). For this reason, familiarity is assumed and this opinion describes only the facts relevant to my disposition of the issues presented by NYU's motion.

The High School of Economics and Finance is owned by NYU and located at 100 Trinity Place, approximately one block east of the World Trade Center site. See Decl. Myra Needleman Supp. NYU Mot. Summ. J. ("Needleman Decl."), Exh. E. Pursuant to an agreement dated September 1, 1993, NYU leased the building to the New York City School Construction Authority, which in turn assigned [*57]  the lease to the Board of Education of the City School District of the City of New York ("BOE"). See id., Exh. E. On September 24, 2001, Stephanie Kung, a Senior Environmental Specialist in NYU's Environmental Services Department conducted a site inspection of the building. See id., Exh. F at 38:3-16, 40:12-18. During this visit, Kung observed broken windows and a large amount of dust and debris inside the building and on the roof. See Decl. John Della Jacono Opp'n NYU Mot. Summ. J. ("Della Jacono Decl."), Exh. 94 at 41:6-18.

Shortly thereafter, the BOE advised NYU that it wanted to perform environmental testing and clean up using its own contractors. See Needleman Decl., Exh. F at 62:20-63:21. NYU presents evidence that it was not involved in the cleanup performed by the BOE's contractors, see id., Exh. F at 67:6-8, 68:10-70:6, 82:20-25, but that it was advised that the work was performed in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, see id., Exh. G. Dabrowski points to evidence that NYU hired Consulting & Testing Services, Inc. ("CTSI") to perform air testing. See Della Jacono Decl., Exh. 94 at 52:10-54:21. Kung asked CTSI to test the dust and debris only for asbestos. See id., Exh. 94 at 54:8-15. [*58]  NYU did not hire any other contractor to perform air or bulk testing at 100 Trinity Place. See id., Exh. 94 at 59:2-8. Furthermore, Kung testified that she viewed the primary hazard at the location to be asbestos until the Spring of 2002. See id., Exh. 94 at 55:20-56:8. At that point, she became aware that heavy metals and PCBs in the dust may also be hazardous. See id., Exh. 94 at 55:20-56:8. However, NYU did not retain CTSI, or any other contractor, to perform additional testing. See id., Exh. 94 at 56:25-57:7.

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