DEFENDANT’S UNATTENDED TOW TRUCK MOVED BACKWARDS INTO PLAINTIFF’S CAR, PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT),
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in this traffic accident case should have been granted. Defendant’s tow truck was left running and unattended when it moved backwards into plaintiff’s car:
Plaintiff established entitlement to judgment as a matter of law in this action where he was injured when defendants’ tow truck was left unattended by its driver, defendant Millar, and rolled backwards into plaintiff’s car, which was stopped behind the tow truck. When a driver fails to secure an unattended vehicle sufficiently to prevent it from starting to move on its own, the driver is negligent …
In opposition, defendants did not raise a triable issue of fact as they failed to offer a non-negligent explanation for the collision… . Defendants’ speculation that, even though Millar left the gear in “park” before exiting the tow truck, the gear must have slipped into reverse on its own due to some mechanical failure is insufficient to raise an issue of fact … . Defendants present no evidence of any type of mechanical failure or defect in the tow truck, which Millar was able to drive back to the depot after the accident without incident. Franco v City of New York, 2019 NY Slip Op 00377, First Dept 1-22-19