You are here: / / Jury’s Finding that the Defendant Was Negligent but that the Negligence...
,

Jury’s Finding that the Defendant Was Negligent but that the Negligence Was Not the Proximate Cause of the Accident Was Against the Weight of the Evidence—Motion to Set Aside the Verdict Should Have Been Granted—New Trial Ordered

The Third Department determined Supreme Court should have granted plaintiff’s motion to set aside the verdict.  Plaintiff was injured when her bicycle struck a recessed manhole cover.  Defendant construction company had placed barrels in the roadway to create a pedestrian walkway.  The placement of barrels served to direct users of the walkway toward the recessed manhole. The jury found the placement of the barrels negligent but further found that negligence was not the proximate cause of the accident.  The verdict was against the weight of the evidence because the only reason the placement of the barrels would be deemed negligent is that the barrels diverted traffic toward the recessed manhole:

“A jury’s finding that a party was at fault but that [such] fault was not a proximate cause of the accident is inconsistent and against the weight of the evidence only when the issues are so inextricably interwoven as to make it logically impossible to find negligence without also finding proximate cause” … . Further, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, defendant, and afford deference to the jury’s credibility determinations … . A “plaintiff’s own conduct may be a superceding cause which severs the causal connection between [the] defendant’s negligence and the injury [when] a plaintiff’s negligence [is] more than mere contributory negligence, which would be relevant in apportioning culpable conduct” … .

* * * The only theory presented at trial as to why such placement was negligent, as indicated in the jury instructions, was that it diverted traffic toward a dangerous recessed manhole cover. Given that the uncontested evidence was that plaintiff was diverted in just such a manner, no fair interpretation of the evidence “would support the conclusion that [plaintiff’s] conduct was so extraordinary or unforeseeable as to make it unreasonable to hold defendant[] responsible for the resulting damages” … . Therefore, Supreme Court erred in denying plaintiff’s motion to set aside the verdict. Durrans v Harrison & Burrowes Bridge Constructors, Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 03896, 3rd Dept 5-7-15

 

You might also like
REMITTAL IS NECESSARY BECAUSE THE SORA RISK-LEVEL-ASSESSEMENT WAS NOT SUPPORTED IN THE RECORD BY FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AS REQUIRED BY THE CORRECTION LAW; DEFENDANT DID NOT RECEIVE EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL IN THAT AN AVAILABLE GROUND FOR A DOWNWARD DEPARTURE WAS NOT RAISED (THIRD DEPT).
Juvenile Delinquency Adjudications Can Not Be Considered in the Criminal History Categories of a Risk Assessment Instrument (RAI)—However the Adjudications Can Be Considered When Deciding Whether to Depart from the Recommended Risk Level
Nature of a Repugnant Verdict Explained—Here the Verdict Convicting Defendant of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and Acquitting Defendant of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance Was Not Repugnant—The Proof at Trial Plays No Part in the Repugnancy Analysis
TRANSFERS MADE DURING 60-MONTH LOOK-BACK PERIOD WERE NOT MADE IN ANTICIPATION OF THE FUTURE NEED FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE, DETERMINATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ANNULLED.
FAMILY COURT’S CONCLUSIONS IN THIS CUSTODY MATTER WERE NOT SUPPORTED BY THE RECORD, MATTER REMITTED FOR PROCEEDINGS BEFORE A DIFFERENT JUDGE (THIRD DEPT).
PLAINTIFF WAS STANDING ON THE SECOND RUNG FROM THE TOP, STRADDLING THE LADDER, WHEN IT WOBBLED AND FELL; THE NEED TO STAND NEAR THE TOP OF THE LADDER TO DO THE WORK DEMONSTRATES THE LADDER WAS NOT AN ADEQUATE SAFETY DEVICE ENTITLING PLAINTIFF TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE LABOR LAW 240(1) CAUSE OF ACTION; THERE WAS A TWO JUSTICE DISSENT WHICH ARGUED THERE WAS A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER PLAINTIFF’S MISUSE OF THE LADDER WAS THE SOLE PROXIIMATE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT (THIRD DEPT).
AN AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE LAW REQUIRES UTILITY COMPANIES TO COMPENSATE CUSTOMERS FOR STORM-OUTAGE-RELATED LOSSES WHERE THE OUTAGE IS FOR 72 HOURS OR MORE AND PROHIBITS UTILITIES FROM RECOVERING THOSE COSTS FROM RATEPAYERS (THIRD DEPT).
False Imprisonment Claims Against Hospital for Involuntary Confinement Turn on Finding of Medical Malpractice

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

NEGLIGENCE Plaintiff’s Inability to Identify the Precise Sidewalk... There Is No Blanket Prohibition Against Relying on the Doctrine of Res Ipsa...