The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court in this traffic accident case, determined plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment against defendant Rubio should not have been granted and defendant Rubio’s motion for summary judgment should have been granted. Plaintiff was a passenger in a taxi driven by defendant Muy-Angamarca. Muy-Angamarca was in the far right lane, which was for right turns only. Rubio was in the middle lane which could be used to go straight or turn right. When Rubio attempted the right turn, Muy-Angamarco continued straight and struck Rubio’s car:
… [T]he Rubio defendants established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating that the sole proximate cause of the accident was Muy-Angamarca’s vehicle continuing straight through the intersection in disregard of a traffic sign directing that his lane was for right turns only … . Based upon Muy-Angamarca’s disregard of the traffic sign, he was in violation of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, and thus, he was negligent as a matter of law (see Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1110[a] …). Rubio was entitled to assume that Muy-Angamarca would obey the traffic sign requiring Muy-Angamarca to turn right … . Indeed, the plaintiff testified at his deposition that he observed that Rubio had signaled before making a legal right turn from the middle lane, that Muy-Angamarca “started to accelerate” toward the intersection while Rubio’s vehicle was turning, and that he did not believe Rubio was at fault in the happening of the accident. Ellsworth v Rubio, 2022 NY Slip Op 02781, Second Dept 4-27-22