After he was purportedly rear-ended by a truck owned by Charles Hukrston Truck, Inc., FM brought a personal injury lawsuit against the company and other defendants in the Bronx County Supreme Court.
Upon an application for pre-trial relief in his favor (via a motion for summary judgment), the judge assigned to the matter found in FM’s favor on the issue of liability, and an appeal ensued.
On its review, the Appellate Division, First Department, noted that while a rear-end collision will typically establish a “prima facie case of negligence” against the driver of that rear vehicle, the latter is permitted to come forward with an “adequate nonnegligent explanation" for what occurred.
And, in this instance, the truck driver claimed that FM had suddenly pulled in front of him from an on-ramp during bad weather, which could explain the collision.
Because of that conflicting testimony and given that the case couldn't be decided without further examination of the facts, the AD1 “unanimously reversed” the underlying liability determination and sent the matter back for further proceedings.
Was his case rear-ended there?
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DECISION