MARTELL v. WEGMANS FOOD MARKETS INC (1999)

On September 10, 1993, Joyce Martell (plaintiff) allegedly sustained injuries to her right wrist and shoulder in a fall in a store owned by defendant.   On February 25, 1994, plaintiff injured her right shoulder at work when an allegedly defective stool collapsed.   In August 1994 plaintiff underwent surgery on her right shoulder.   In April 1996 plaintiffs commenced this action, seeking damages for injuries to plaintiff's wrist and shoulder allegedly caused in the September 1993 slip and fall.   Defendant then commenced a third-party action against plaintiff's employer, alleging that its negligence in providing a defective stool contributed to plaintiff's injuries.

 Supreme Court erred in granting third-party defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the third-party complaint.   The original tortfeasor is entitled to assert a claim for contribution against an independent, successive tortfeasor for the aggravation of plaintiff's injuries caused by the successive tortfeasor's conduct (see, Alexander, Practice Commentaries, McKinney's Cons Laws of NY, Book 7B, CPLR C1401:5;  Suria v. Shiffman, 67 N.Y.2d 87, 98, 499 N.Y.S.2d 913, 490 N.E.2d 832, rearg. denied 67 N.Y.2d 918, 501 N.Y.S.2d 1028, 492 N.E.2d 1236).   CPLR 1401 applies not only to joint tortfeasors, but also to independent, successive tortfeasors (Board of Educ. v. Sargent, Webster, Crenshaw & Folley, 71 N.Y.2d 21, 27-28, 523 N.Y.S.2d 475, 517 N.E.2d 1360).  “The critical requirement for apportionment under Dole or CPLR article 14 is that the breach of duty by the contributing party must have had a part in causing or augmenting the injury for which contribution is sought” (Nassau Roofing & Sheet Metal Co. v. Facilities Dev. Corp., 71 N.Y.2d 599, 603, 528 N.Y.S.2d 516, 523 N.E.2d 803).   Defendant is entitled to seek contribution from plaintiff's employer to the extent that the alleged negligence of plaintiff's employer exacerbated the injuries that plaintiff allegedly sustained in the original accident.

Order reversed on the law with costs, motion denied and third-party complaint reinstated.

I respectfully dissent.   Defendant may assert a claim for contribution against third-party defendant pursuant to CPLR article 14 only for damages “for the same personal injury, injury to property or wrongful death [emphasis added]” (CPLR 1401;  see, Nassau Roofing & Sheet Metal Co. v. Facilities Dev. Corp., 71 N.Y.2d 599, 528 N.Y.S.2d 516, 523 N.E.2d 803;  4 Weinstein-Korn-Miller, N.Y. Civ Prac ¶ 1401.10a, 1401.10b [1998] ).   Here, the injury sustained by plaintiff Joyce Martell at work, which occurred more than five months after her fall in defendant's store, was a discrete and separate injury.   Thus, defendant may not assert a claim for contribution against third-party defendant.

MEMORANDUM:

All concur except HAYES, J., who dissents and votes to affirm in the following Memorandum: