Eric Cheng (Partner-White Plains, NY) and Alex J. Ru (Associate-New York, NY) obtained a Decision and Order from Richmond County Supreme Court granting summary judgment in a New York Labor Law case that involved an alleged construction accident at a two-family residence where the plaintiff sustained injuries when a fence post fell on his foot. Our client, under a LLC, owned a two-family residence that functions exclusively as a private home for the client’s family. We moved for summary judgment on the basis that homeowners of a one- or two-family dwelling are statutorily exempt from liability under Labor Law sections 240 and 241(6), and that our client cannot be held liable under section 200 because the plaintiff’s accident arose from the means and method of his task and they did have the authority to supervise or control those methods or means. The plaintiff argued that the homeowners’ exemption is not available to (1) corporate owners of the residence, (2) a non-owner (or the entities principals) occupied residences, or (3) when the owner derives a commercial benefit even if no rent is charged if the tenants covered the expenses and maintenance (real estate taxes, insurance premiums, utilities, and repairs) of the residence. The court adopted Eric and Alex’s argument that the ownership entity, occupancy of the premises, or whether the tenant covers the costs of maintenance and expenses is immaterial as to the applicability of the homeowners’ exemption. Rather, the determinative factor in this case is the residential purpose of the property. The court found that the premises qualified for the homeowners’ exemption because it served no commercial purposes. Our client did not receive or collect rent from her family, and if the property is sold the proceeds would go to the family. The court further agreed that deposition testimony and video of the accident establishes that our client did not have authority to supervise or control the methods or means of the plaintiff’s work, and that the accident occurred because of the manner in which the work was performed and not the result of a dangerous condition on the property.