Summary
This Appellate Division, First Department decision reverses a trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants in a personal injury action arising from a bus collision. The appellate court found that while defendants presented evidence of the other driver's negligence, conflicting testimony from the plaintiffs and the bus driver raised triable issues of fact regarding proximate cause and due care. Consequently, the motion for summary judgment was denied.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to GVC II Inc. and Tiffany Marie Merritt on the issue of liability.
Holdings
- The appellate division reversed the grant of summary judgment, finding that genuine issues of material fact exist regarding the bus driver's negligence.
Key quotations
“Plaintiffs' testimony, in which they alleged that the accident was caused by the bus veering into the center lane, was "sufficient to permit an inference" that the bus proximately caused the accident, and the bus driver's conflicting testimony raised triable issues of fact (see DiSalvatore v New York City Tr. Auth., 45 AD3d 402, 403 [1st Dept 2007]).” (at 1)
Factual background
Plaintiffs, passengers on a bus operated by GVC II Inc., were injured when the bus collided with a minivan driven by Moshe Lieberman. The bus driver, Tiffany Merritt, was operating the bus, and the minivan driver entered the lane unsafely, causing the collision.
Procedural history
The Supreme Court, Bronx County entered an order on February 29, 2024 granting summary judgment to GVC II Inc. and Tiffany Marie Merritt, dismissing the complaint. The Appellate Division, First Department reviewed the order and reversed the grant of summary judgment.
Remand instructions
The summary judgment motion is denied; the case is remanded for further proceedings on liability.