New York Court of Appeals

Thomas R. Smith, Appellant v. Shell Oil Company, Defendants and Third-Party Plaintiffs-Respondents. Island…

June 8, 199585 N.Y.2d 1000

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division's summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff's claim under Labor Law §240(1). The Court held that the free‑standing Shell sign qualifies as a "structure" but that the plaintiff's activity of changing a lightbulb does not fall within any of the statute's enumerated hazardous activities.