Belmont v. German

Full title: Justine Belmont, appellant, v. Tracey German, et al., respondents.

Court: SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department

Date published: Dec 17, 2014

2014 N.Y. Slip Op. 8798 (N.Y. App. Div. 2014)

1 N.Y.S.3d 136

Opinion

2014-02794

12-17-2014

Justine Belmont, appellant, v. Tracey German, et al., respondents.

Beck & Strauss, PLLC, Uniondale, N.Y. (Leland Stuart Beck of counsel), for appellant. Martyn, Toher, Martyn & Rossi, Mineola, N.Y. (Megan Sampson of counsel), for respondents.

REINALDO E. RIVERA, J.P.

L. PRISCILLA HALL

LEONARD B. AUSTIN

ROBERT J. MILLER

JOSEPH J. MALTESE, JJ. (Index No. 18191/12)

Beck & Strauss, PLLC, Uniondale, N.Y. (Leland Stuart Beck of counsel), for appellant.

Martyn, Toher, Martyn & Rossi, Mineola, N.Y. (Megan Sampson of counsel), for respondents.

DECISION & ORDER

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Weiss, J.), entered February 5, 2014, which granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint on the ground that the plaintiff did not sustain a serious injury within the meaning of Insurance Law § 5102(d) as a result of the subject accident.

ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, and the defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint is denied.

The defendants established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by demonstrating that the plaintiff did not sustain a serious injury within the meaning of Insurance Law § 5102(d) as a result of the subject accident (see Toure v Avis Rent A Car Sys., 98 NY2d 345; Gaddy v Eyler, 79 NY2d 955, 956-957). The defendants submitted competent medical evidence establishing, prima facie, that the alleged injuries to the cervical region of the plaintiff's spine did not constitute serious injuries under either the permanent consequential limitation of use or significant limitation of use categories of Insurance Law § 5102(d) (see Staff v Yshua, 59 AD3d 614), and that these alleged injuries were not caused by the subject accident (see Jilani v Palmer, 83 AD3d 786, 787).

In opposition, however, the plaintiff raised a triable issue of fact as to whether she sustained serious injuries to the cervical region of her spine that were caused by the accident (see Perl v Meher, 18 NY3d 208, 218-219). Therefore, the Supreme Court should have denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

RIVERA, J.P., HALL, AUSTIN, MILLER and MALTESE, JJ., concur.

ENTER:

Aprilanne Agostino

Clerk of the Court