Opinion
2007-1558 W C.
Decided on March 16, 2009.
Appeal from a judgment of the City Court of Yonkers, Westchester County (Arthur J. Doran, III, J.), entered January 31, 2007. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, dismissed the action.
Judgment reversed without costs and matter remanded to the City Court for a new trial.
PRESENT: TANENBAUM, J.P., MOLIA and LaCAVA, JJ.
Upon a review of the record in this small claims action to recover for property damage to plaintiff's car, we find that substantial justice was not provided to the parties according to the rules and principles of substantive law (UCCA 1804, 1807). At the trial, plaintiff attempted to introduce into evidence, in order to establish his damages, an estimate provided to plaintiff by defendant's insurance company. The court informed plaintiff that he was required by statute to submit two itemized estimates ( see UCCA 1804) and, thus, that he had failed to establish his damages. After trial, the court dismissed the action based on plaintiff's failure to sustain his burden of proof.
In a small claims action for damage to a motor vehicle, a single repair estimate for the cost of repair may be sufficient to establish damages if the estimate was prepared by the insurance carrier for the defendant ( see Miller v Sanchez , 6 Misc 3d 479, 486; see generally DiCamillo v City of New York, 245 AD2d 332, 333; Prince, Richardson on Evidence § 8-231, at 543 [Farrell 11th ed]). Since the City Court erred in failing to consider the estimate proffered by plaintiff, the judgment is reversed and the matter remanded for a new trial.
Tanenbaum, J.P., Molia and LaCava, JJ., concur.