Contractor Liability

The First Department denied defendant-contractor's cross-motion for summary judgment, in Grant v. Caprice Mgt. Co., decided on September 18, 2007, in which plaintiff seeks damages for injuries she allegedly sustained when a window installed by defendant fell out of its tracks and struck her in the head as she tried to close it.

While a contractual obligation, standing alone, will generally not give rise to tort liability in favor of a third person, there is an exception when a contractor, having undertaken to perform services pursuant to a contract, negligently creates or exacerbates a dangerous condition so as to effectively launch a force or instrument of harm. The court held that the allegations here fit that exception, and so plaintiff will have her day in court.