Rock-Wright v. O'Connor

• Decision Date: 02 May 2019
• Docket Number: 527332
• Citation: 172 A.D.3d 1507,99 N.Y.S.3d 466
• Parties: Kathleen ROCK–WRIGHT et al., Appellants, v. Edmund E. O'CONNOR, Respondent.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

172 A.D.3d 1507
99 N.Y.S.3d 466

Kathleen ROCK–WRIGHT et al., Appellants,
v.
Edmund E. O'CONNOR, Respondent.

527332

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, New York.

Calendar Date: March 25, 2019
Decided and Entered: May 2, 2019

99 N.Y.S.3d 467

LaFave, Wein & Frament, PLLC, Guilderland (Paul H. Wein of counsel), for appellants.

Pemberton & Briggs, Schenectady (Paul Briggs of counsel), for respondent.

Before: Egan Jr., J.P., Lynch, Clark, Mulvey and Devine, JJ.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Lynch, J.

172 A.D.3d 1507

Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court (Muller, J.), entered December 27, 2017 in Essex County, which denied plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment.

On September 20, 2011, defendant, while driving his pickup truck, backed into and struck a vehicle driven by Julie Matyas. Plaintiff Kathleen Rock–Wright was a passenger in Matyas' vehicle. Rock–Wright, and her husband derivatively, commenced this action seeking damages for injuries she sustained in the

172 A.D.3d 1508

accident. In his answer, defendant claimed that he was not liable because he was faced with an emergency that required him to quickly back up. Plaintiffs moved for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability, arguing that the emergency doctrine did not apply and that the evidence supported a finding that defendant was negligent. Supreme Court denied the motion, and plaintiffs appeal. We affirm.

During her examination before trial, Rock–Wright testified that she was in the car behind defendant's truck on an access road leading from a school parking lot to Route 9N. Defendant was waiting to turn right onto Route 9N. Rock–Wright recalled that she saw defendant's truck "coming at [them] fast" and strike the car that she was in at the front bumper and grill. Defendant explained that, as he was waiting, a car drove towards him from Route 9N attempting to turn left onto the access road. According to defendant, this third vehicle was going approximately 38 miles per hour and he did not notice it until it was six or seven feet in front of him. Defendant claimed that he put his truck into reverse to avoid being struck...