Greene v. Sivret

Decision Date28 September 2007
Docket NumberCA 06-01813.
Citation842 N.Y.S.2d 814,2007 NY Slip Op 07131,43 A.D.3d 1328
PartiesALVIN M. GREENE, ESQ., as Next Friend and/or Guardian ad Litem for C.W., an Infant, Appellant, v. PAMELA J. (MALTESE) SIVRET et al., Defendants, and SUSAN G. REED, Respondent.
CourtNew York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Genesee County (Robert C. Noonan, A.J.), entered June 5, 2006 in a personal injury action. The order, insofar as appealed from, granted the motion of defendant Susan G. Reed for summary judgment dismissing the second amended complaint and cross claims against her and denied that part of plaintiff's cross motion for partial summary judgment against that defendant.

It is hereby ordered that the order so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimously affirmed without costs.

Memorandum:

Plaintiff commenced this action seeking damages for injuries sustained by C.W. (hereafter, child) when a vehicle operated by defendant Susan G. Reed was rear-ended by a vehicle operated by defendant Pamela J. (Maltese) Sivret, in which the child was a passenger. Contrary to plaintiff's contention, Supreme Court properly granted the motion of Reed for summary judgment dismissing the second amended complaint and all cross claims against her. It is well settled that "a rear-end collision with a stopped vehicle establishes a prima facie case of negligence on the part of the driver of the rear vehicle" (Pitchure v Kandefer Plumbing & Heating, 273 AD2d 790, 790 [2000]). Here, Reed met her initial burden on the motion by establishing that her stopped vehicle was rear-ended by Sivret's vehicle. Sivret did not oppose Reed's motion and, in opposing Reed's motion, plaintiff failed to submit the requisite "nonnegligent explanation for the collision" (Ruzycki v Baker, 301 AD2d 48, 49 [2002]). Indeed, Sivret testified at her deposition that she was aware of the "stop and go" traffic and thus could have anticipated that Reed might be forced to stop suddenly. Sivret also admitted that, just before the collision, she had averted her attention from the road in order to look out the passenger window and that, when she returned her attention to the road, she was unable to avoid the collision with Reed's vehicle (see generally Farrington v New York City Tr. Auth., 33 AD3d 332 [2006]). Thus, Sivret's "failure to anticipate and react to the slow and cautious movement of [Reed's] vehicle is not...

To continue reading

Request your trial
4 cases
  • Kalbfliesh v. McCann, 785 CA 14-01218
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • June 19, 2015
    ...Green v. Mower, 302 A.D.2d 1005, 1006, 755 N.Y.S.2d 162, affd. 100 N.Y.2d 529, 761 N.Y.S.2d 137, 791 N.E.2d 394 ; Greene v. Sivret, 43 A.D.3d 1328, 1328–1329, 842 N.Y.S.2d 814 ). We likewise conclude that, under the circumstances of this case, the other alleged acts of negligence by Moses, ......
  • Borowski v. Ptak
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • June 7, 2013
    ...to rebut the presumption of his negligence created by the fact that his vehicle rear-ended defendant's vehicle ( see Green v. Sivret, 43 A.D.3d 1328, 1328, 842 N.Y.S.2d 814). Even assuming, arguendo, that plaintiff is correct that defendant's brake lights were not working at the time of the......
  • Lacayo-Alvarez v. Seecharan
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court
    • August 20, 2019
    ...gives a driver notice that stopping may be required and removed the "short stop" defense to a rear end collision. See Greene v. Sivret, 43 A.D.3d 1328, 1329 (4th Dep't 2007); Shulga v. Ashcroft, 11 A.D.3d 893, 894 (4th Dep't 2004) (admission of heavy traffic defeats the defense). Here, the ......
  • Jennifer R. v. City of Syracuse
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • September 28, 2007

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT