Opinion
13613 Index No. 28467/18E Case No. 2020-00352
04-20-2021
Yimmy JIMENEZ, Plaintiff–Respondent, v. GREYHOUND LINES, INC., et al., Defendants–Appellants.
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, New York (Saiful Islam of counsel), for appellants. William Schwitzer & Associates, P.C., New York (Christine Duchatellier of counsel), for respondent.
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, New York (Saiful Islam of counsel), for appellants.
William Schwitzer & Associates, P.C., New York (Christine Duchatellier of counsel), for respondent.
Webber, J.P., Kern, Oing, Gonza´lez, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Mary Ann Brigantti, J.), entered on or about August 26, 2019, which granted plaintiff's motion for summary judgment as to liability and striking defendants’ affirmative defenses alleging culpable conduct, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, and the motion denied.
Plaintiff alleges that he sustained injuries as a result of a motor vehicle accident when a bus driven by defendant Glover and owned by defendant Greyhound Lines, Inc., struck the rear of his vehicle. Plaintiff moved pursuant to CPLR 3212 for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability and pursuant to CPLR 3211(b) to strike defendants’ affirmative defenses alleging plaintiff's culpability.
We find that Supreme Court erred in granting plaintiff's motion. While plaintiff made a prima facie showing that his injuries resulted from defendant Glover's failure to maintain a safe distance between the bus and plaintiff's vehicle, which was stopped at an intersection (see Vehicle & Traffic Law § 1129 ; Corrigan v. Porter Cab Corp., 101 A.D.3d 471, 955 N.Y.S.2d 336 [1st Dept. 2012] ), defendants raised issues of fact by submitting Glover's affidavit stating that plaintiff had abruptly changed lanes and darted in front of the bus before stopping suddenly despite the green light (see Morris v. Green, 156 A.D.3d 540, 66 N.Y.S.3d 248 [1st Dept. 2017] ; Castro v. Rivera, 116 A.D.3d 517, 983 N.Y.S.2d 270 [1st Dept. 2014] ).