Pharmacist can pursue injury claims against CVS store leaseholder

Negligence claims filed against the leaseholder of a CVS Health Corp. store after a pharmacist was injured in a fall may proceed, an appellate court held Wednesday.

In Fazzolari v. Sun Enterprises LLC, the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, Second Department, unanimously affirmed a New York Supreme Court ruling that denied summary judgment to leaseholder CVS Albany LLC on claims filed by a pharmacist who fell down a staircase on the premises.

Pharmacist Joseph Fazzolari was employed by CVS Rx Services Inc. In June 2017, he suffered from injuries when he fell while descending an interior staircase of the CVS store where he worked. CVS Albany was the leaseholder of the store.

Mr. Fazzolari filed a complaint for personal damages against his employer and the leaseholder; both moved for summary judgment on the basis that Mr. Fazzolari’s claims were barred by the exclusive remedy provisions of New York workers compensation law. In 2019, the New York Supreme Court granted summary judgment to Mr. Fazzolari’s employer but allowed him to proceed with his claims against CVS Albany. The leaseholder appealed.

The appellate court affirmed the Supreme Court’s decision, holding that CVS Albany failed to show that it and CVS Rx — Mr. Fazzolari’s employer — operated as a single entity, or that either entity controlled the day-to-day operations of the other.