MARULLO v. CITY OF NEW YORK (2019)

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Laura G. Douglas, J.), entered February 28, 2018, which, to the extent appealed from as limited by the briefs, granted plaintiffs Charles and Dawn Marullo's motion to consolidate three Labor Law cases for a joint unified trial on liability and damages, unanimously modified, on the law and in the exercise of discretion, to deny so much of the motion seeking a joint unified trial as to damages, and otherwise affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiffs allege that they suffered nearly identical types of injuries caused by the same gas explosion.  As a result, the medical testimony presented by plaintiffs regarding their damages would overlap.  Despite the medical evidence, we find that individual issues would predominate if the damages claims were tried together.  Although plaintiffs suffered similar types of injuries, their injuries are distinct—each plaintiff sustained different degrees of burns to different parts of his body.  Moreover, each plaintiff will have a distinct medical history and will have received individualized medical treatment (see Addison v. New York Presbyt. Hosp./Columbia Univ. Med. Ctr., 52 A.D.3d 269, 270, 860 N.Y.S.2d 32 [1st Dept. 2008] ).  Any benefit gained by trying plaintiffs' damages claims together would be outweighed by the potential prejudice to defendants.

We have considered the remaining arguments and find them unavailing.