THE ALLEGATION THAT PLAINTIFF STOPPED FOR A YELLOW LIGHT WAS NOT A NON-NEGLIGENT EXPLANATION FOR A REAR-END COLLISION; DEFENSE VERDICT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SET ASIDE (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that plaintiff’s motion to set aside the defense verdict in this rear-end traffic accident case should have been granted. Plaintiff was stopped when the collision occurred:
There is no valid line of reasoning and permissible inferences that could possibly support the jury’s verdict based on the evidence presented at trial … . Defendant Tracy Murphy acknowledged that plaintiff’s vehicle was stopped when she struck plaintiff’s vehicle in the rear. Murphy’s claim that plaintiff had stopped at a yellow light does not constitute a nonnegligent explanation for the accident … . Smyth v Murphy, 2019 NY Slip Op 08353, First Dept 11-19-19