Heaney v. Kahn

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department, reversed an order granting the defendant summary judgment in a personal-injury action arising from a bicycle collision with a vehicle exiting a parking lot. The court held that the defendant failed to establish prima facie that the vehicle's presence on the sidewalk was merely a condition or occasion of the accident and not a proximate cause.

Holdings

1. The defendant failed to establish prima facie that he was not at fault in the happening of the accident; therefore, summary judgment dismissing the complaint was improper.
2. The defendant failed to establish prima facie that the presence of his vehicle on the sidewalk merely furnished the condition or occasion for the accident and was not one of its causes.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the defendant established prima facie entitlement to summary judgment by showing that he was not at fault in the bicycle-vehicle accident.
2. Whether the defendant established that the presence of his vehicle on the sidewalk merely furnished the condition or occasion for the accident and was not a proximate cause.

Disposition

reversed