A judge has refused to dismiss a complaint by Chautauqua County against the waste management company that employed a man fatally injured at a landfill in 2020.

State Supreme Court Judge Grace Hanlon dismissed a motion by Casella Waste Management to get the so-called “third party complaint” tossed out.

On Aug. 3, 2020, Scott Deming was standing behind a large pile of garbage and debris he had just dumped at the landfill in Ellery when he was hit by a bulldozer. Deming was fatally injured. The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office stated the bulldozer operator had “no idea” Deming was behind the pile when the debris was pushed into a pit.

Chautauqua County was sued over the incident by Deming’s estate, and the county then sued Casella and Bestway Container Services as a third-party plaintiff. Casella bought Bestway in 2021. Deming was an employee of Bestway, according to Hanlon’s decision.

“Granting summary judgment is a drastic remedy which this court will not enter into flippantly,” Hanlon wrote. “Granting summary judgment at the outset of a case, with little or no discovery being exchanged, is an extreme measure that the court cannot grant in the current instance.”

Casella had claimed that it did not assume Bestway’s liabilities when it acquired the company.

Casella is now appealing Hanlon’s order to the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court.