Case Name: CROSBY v. OTIS ELEVATOR CO. et al.
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1910-12-09
Citations: 126 N.Y.S. 204
Docket Number: 
Parties: CROSBY v. OTIS ELEVATOR CO. et al.
Judges: 
Reporter: West's New York Supplement
Volume: 126
Pages: 204–206

Head Matter:
CROSBY v. OTIS ELEVATOR CO. et al.
(Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.
December 9, 1910.)' j
Pleading (§ 52 )—Action fob Injuries—Two Causes of Action—Form of j Complaint. ' ;
The negligence of an employer and a contractor working on its building-constituted an employe’s action for injuries from the contractor’s servants causing a piece of iron to fall on him, and not the injury itself, so-that, where the negligence mentioned was not concurrent, the employé ; had two causes of action, requiring his complaint in his action for the injury to separately state and number each cause of action against the respective defendants.
[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Pleading, Cent. Dig. § 113 r Dec. Dig. § 52.*] j
Laughlin, J., dissenting.
Appeal from Special Term, New York County.
Action for injuries by Michael Crosby against the Otis Elevator ; Company, impleaded-with-.Charles A. Cowen & Co. From an order- ] denying a motion to compel plaintiff to separately state and number the i causes of action in his complaint, defendant Otis Elevator Company-appeals.
Reversed.
Argued before INGRAHAM, P. J., and McLAUGHLIN, SCOTT,. ' LAUGHLIN, and DOWLING, JJ.
Franklin M. Clark, for appellant.
For other cases see same topic & § number in Dec. & Am. Digs.' 1907 to date, & Rep’r Indexes-

Opinion:
DOWLING, J.
The complaint herein, sets forth two causes of action, although pleaded as one. One cause of action is stated against j the defendants Charles A. Cowen & Co., the employers of plaintiff,. | who were the contractors for the brickwork of a certain building in< j the city of New York, and who are alleged to have failed in their duty ] to provide the plaintiff with a good, safe, and'secure place wherein. j to perform his work for such defendant, and with a good, safe, and secure covering over such place, by reason of which failure of duty on the part of .that defendant a certain heavy piece of iron in the-course of its descent struck plaintiff and inflicted upon him serious-injuries. This cause of action is brought specifically under the employer's liability act; a notice given thereunder to such defendant being ' annexed to the complaint. A second cause of action is stated against the defendant Otis Elevator Company, which was the contractor for installing elevators in the same premises, and against which it is alleged: that it, "its agents and servants, negligently, carelessly, and recklessly threw or permitted a heavy piece of iron to fall from and over the- j floor of said building above the place where plaintiff was working,, down said elevator shaft," whereby plaintiff was injured. , I
The allegations concerning the defendants Charles A. Cowen & Co. I are contained in the paragraphs of the complaint numbered "First,"' i "Third," "Fifth," "Seventh," "Eighth," "Ninth," "Tenth," and "Elev- ¡ enth." None of these contains any mention of, or reference to, the j defendant Otis Elevator Company. The allegations concerning the- •defendant Otis Elevator Company are contained in the paragraphs of the complaint numbered "Second," "Fourth," "Sixth," "Twelfth," and "Thirteenth." None of these contains any mention of, or reference to, the defendants Charles A. Cowen & Co. Nowhere is it alleged that there were concurring acts of negligence on the part of defendants. The acts of negligence complained of are separate and distinct, and constitute two causes of action, which should be separately stated and numbered. Hamnstrown, as Administrator, etc., v. New York Contracting Co. et al., 122 App. Div. 43, 106 N. Y. Supp. 880. As was •said in Brown v. Thompson-Starrett Co. et al., 139 App. Div. 632, 124 N. Y. Supp. 396:
"The plaintiff's error in attempting to sustain this form of complaint arises from the fact that he seems to consider that the happening of the accident constitutes the gravamen of his cause of action. In this he is mistaken. The gravamen lies in the negligence which led to the accident, and to state a good cause of action the negligence must be attributed to the particular defendant said to have been guilty thereof."
Where that is done, and it not only is not alleged that there were concurrent acts of negligence, but the absence of such acts affirmatively appears, and only independent acts of negligence are charged, then separate causes of action are set forth.
The order appealed from must therefore be reversed, with $10 costs and disbursements, and the motion to require the plaintiff to separately state and number the facts constituting each cause of action against the several defendants must be granted, with $10 costs.
INGRAHAM, P. J., and McEAUGHLIN and SCOTT, JJ., concur.