Opinion
2002-1449 Q C.
Decided October 2, 2003.
Appeal by plaintiffs from a judgment of the Civil Court, Queens County (P. O'Donoghue, J.), entered June 6, 2002, after a jury trial, in favor of defendant.
Judgment unanimously affirmed with $25 costs.
PRESENT: ARONIN, J.P., PATTERSON and GOLIA, JJ.
Plaintiff Jose E. Quintero, an automobile mechanic, and his wife seek to recover damages for, inter alia, personal injuries sustained by him when the radiator hose in the defendant's car exploded while he was performing an inspection and emission test of the vehicle as required by Vehicle and Traffic Law § 301. Plaintiffs contend that the jury verdict in favor of defendant was against the weight of the evidence.
[A] jury verdict in favor of a defendant should not be set aside unless the evidence preponderates so heavily in the plaintiff's favor that the verdict could not have been reached on any fair interpretation of the evidence * * * ( Raymond v. Henry, 306 AD2d 336 [citations and internal quotation marks omitted]; Spencer v. City of New York, 300 AD2d 468 [citations and internal quotation marks omitted]). "Moreover, determinations regarding the credibility of witnesses are for the jury, which had the opportunity to see and hear the witnesses, and its resolution of issues of credibility should be afforded great deference * * *" ( Raymond, 306 AD2d 336 [citations omitted]; Darmetta v. Ginsburg, 256 AD2d 498). In our view, since plaintiff possessed sole control of the vehicle and he purportedly conducted a physical examination of the vehicle's engine and related parts prior to commencing the emissions test, the verdict was based upon a fair interpretation of the evidence.