PLAINTIFF WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON LIABILITY IN THIS INTERSECTION TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CASE; BUT DEFENDANTS’ COMPARATIVE-NEGLIGENCE AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on liability in this intersection traffic accident case, but defendant’s comparative-negligence affirmative defense should not have been dismissed:
… [T]he plaintiff established prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating that [defendant] Giunta entered the intersection without yielding the right-of-way to the plaintiff’s vehicle, and that such negligence was a proximate cause of the accident (see Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1142[a] …). … [P]laintiff testified … that his vehicle had been traveling for about six blocks before approaching the subject intersection; that he was operating his vehicle at or below the speed limit of 25 miles per hour as he approached the intersection; that he saw the defendants’ vehicle “speeding” while moving from left to right; and that he had only one second to react before the impact … .
In opposition, the defendants failed to raise a triable issue of fact … .
… Giunta averred that he stopped at the stop sign and proceeded at 10 miles per hour through the intersection. Giunta further averred that after the front of his vehicle had passed through the intersection, the plaintiff’s vehicle struck the right rear quarter panel of his vehicle with such “tremendous force” that it caused his vehicle to spin around and roll over on its roof and then back onto its wheels. Under these circumstances, the defendants raised triable issues of fact, including whether the plaintiff exercised reasonable care in approaching the intersection and whether the plaintiff could have avoided the collision … . Ki Hong Park v Giunta, 2023 NY Slip Op 03004, Second Dept 6-7-23
Practice Point: Plaintiff’s comparative negligence is not a bar to summary judgment in a traffic accident case. But defendant can still raise a comparative-negligence affirmative defense which can survive plaintiff’s successful summary judgment motion.