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PLAINTIFF WAS STOPPED WHEN PLAINTIFF WAS REAR-ENDED BY DEFENDANT; BECAUSE DEFENDANT DID NOT OFFER A NONNEGLIGENT EXPLANATION, PLAINTIFF WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON LIABILITY; HOWEVER PLAINTIFF MAY HAVE BEEN STOPPED ON AN ENTRANCE RAMP; THEREFORE DEFENDANT’S COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE PROPERLY SURVIVED DISMSSAL (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on liability in the rear-end-collision traffic accident case. However, because plaintiff may have been parked on an entrance ramp to an expressway, the comparative negligence affirmative defense properly survived dismissal:

A rear-end collision with a stopped vehicle establishes a prima facie case of negligence on the part of the operator of the rear vehicle, thereby requiring that operator to rebut the inference of negligence by providing a nonnegligent explanation for the collision … . Here, the plaintiff established her prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability through the submission of, among other things, her affidavit, which established that the plaintiff’s vehicle was parked on the side of a service road to the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx (hereinafter the expressway), with the hazard lights activated, when it was struck in the rear by the defendants’ vehicle … . In opposition to the plaintiff’s prima facie showing, the defendants failed to rebut the inference of negligence with admissible evidence … . …

The plaintiff also established her prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law dismissing the defendants’ affirmative defenses alleging comparative negligence by demonstrating that she was not at fault in the happening of the accident … . In opposition to the plaintiff’s prima face showing, however, the defendants raised triable issues of fact as to whether the plaintiff was comparatively at fault in the happening of the accident, including whether the plaintiff’s vehicle was stopped on the entrance ramp to the expressway (see Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1202[a][1][j] …). Ramirez v Greiner, 2024 NY Slip Op 04154, Second Dept 8-7-24

Practice Point: Unless defendant offers a nonnegligent explanation for a rear-end collision with plaintiff’s stopped vehicle, plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment on liability.​

Practice Point: However, summary judgment on liability in favor of plaintiff does not preclude a valid comparative-fault affirmative defense.

 

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