TRANSIT AUTHORITY’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS BUS PASSENGER’S SUDDEN STOP INJURY CASE PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department determined the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) defendants’ motion for summary judgment in this action brought by a bus passenger alleging injury from a sudden stop was properly denied:
To prevail on a cause of action alleging that a common carrier was negligent in stopping a bus, a plaintiff must prove that the stop was unusual and violent, rather than merely one of the sort of “jerks and jolts commonly experienced in city bus travel” … . Moreover, a plaintiff may not satisfy that burden of proof merely by characterizing the stop as unusual and violent … .
However, in seeking summary judgment dismissing such a cause of action, common carriers have the burden of establishing, prima facie, that the stop was not unusual and violent. That burden may be satisfied by the plaintiff’s deposition testimony as to how the accident occurred … .
Here, the plaintiff testified at her deposition that she was propelled to the floor and from the front to the middle of the bus. This testimony raised a triable issue of fact as to whether the stop at issue was unusual and violent, as opposed to whether the stop involved only the normal jerks and jolts commonly associated with city bus travel… . Since the NYCTA defendants did not meet their prima facie burden of establishing their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, it is unnecessary to determine whether the papers submitted by the plaintiff in opposition thereto were sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact … . Gani v New York City Tr. Auth., 2018 NY Slip Op 01452, Second Dept 3-7-18
NEGLIGENCE (BUSES, TRANSIT AUTHORITY’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS BUS PASSENGER’S SUDDEN STOP INJURY CASE PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND DEPT))/BUSES (TRANSIT AUTHORITY’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS BUS PASSENGER’S SUDDEN STOP INJURY CASE PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND DEPT))/SUDDEN STOP (BUSES, TRANSIT AUTHORITY’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS BUS PASSENGER’S SUDDEN STOP INJURY CASE PROPERLY DENIED (SECOND DEPT))