The Second Department, over a dissent, determined there was a question of fact whether a taxi driver (Rahman) breached a duty to a pedestrian (O’Connor) by positioning the cab partially in a traffic lane such that the view of drivers approaching from the rear was obstructed. The pedestrian, who had just gotten out of the cab, was struck by another cab (driven by Aidoo) when he attempted to cross the road. Any breach related to letting the passenger/pedestrian off too far from the curb was not the proximate cause of the injuries:
Rahman’s taxicab, which was stopped at least partially in the right travel lane, may have obscured Aidoo’s view of O’Connor as O’Connor began to cross the street. This raised a triable issue of fact as to whether Rahman’s positioning of his car at least partially in a travel lane was a violation of the traffic rules of the City of New York (see 34 RCNY 4-08[e]), and whether that violation was a proximate cause of the collision and of O’Connor’s injuries and death … .
Contrary to the position taken by our dissenting colleague, the duty of a common carrier to safely discharge a passenger is not the sole basis asserted for liability in this action. The asserted liability of Rahman does not depend on whether he breached his duty to O’Connor as his passenger. Rahman’s alleged breach of that duty, by letting O’Connor off too far from the curb, did not proximately cause O’Connor’s injuries, which resulted from his attempt to cross the street … . Instead, liability arises, if at all, from Rahman’s breach of duty to O’Connor as a pedestrian by positioning his cab partially in a traffic lane, thereby obstructing the view of drivers approaching from the rear … . O’Connor v Ronnie Cab Corp., 2016 NY Slip Op 05980, 2nd Dept 9-14-16
NEGLIGENCE (QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER POSITION OF TAXI PARTIALLY IN THE ROADWAY WAS PROXIMATE CAUSE OF PASSENGER’S INJURIES WHEN PASSENGER WAS STRUCK BY ANOTHER CAR APPROACHING FROM THE REAR)/PEDESTRIANS (QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER POSITION OF TAXI PARTIALLY IN THE ROADWAY WAS PROXIMATE CAUSE OF PASSENGER’S INJURIES WHEN PASSENGER WAS STRUCK BY ANOTHER CAR APPROACHING FROM THE REAR)/TAXICABS (QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER POSITION OF TAXI PARTIALLY IN THE ROADWAY WAS PROXIMATE CAUSE OF PASSENGER’S INJURIES WHEN PASSENGER WAS STRUCK BY ANOTHER CAR APPROACHING FROM THE REAR)