Morrison Mahoney Partner Brian Heermance and Associate Namita Mehta recently obtained a judgment dismissing the complaint upon summary judgment motion in an personal injury (automobile accident) matter.
The plaintiff was a passenger in the vehicle driven by the insured. The co-defendant’s vehicle hit the center driver’s side of the defendant’s vehicle at an intersection. The co-defendant’s way of travel into the intersection was controlled by a stop sign. The insured’s way of travel into the intersection had no traffic control device. The Court agreed that the co-defendant violated VTL 1142 (a) by failing to yield right of way since he had a stop sign and therefore, is negligent as a matter of law. As the insured was the driver with a right of way; he was entitled to assume that co-defendant would obey the traffic laws requiring him to yield. Therefore, The Court determined that the insured made a prima facie showing of entitlement to summary judgment and co-defendant failed to raise a triable issue of fact.
