Opinion
Submitted May 7, 1999
June 21, 1999
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the defendants appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Rockland County (Miller, J.), dated June 30, 1998, which granted the plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability.
Henderson Brennan, White Plains, N.Y. (John T. Brennan of counsel), for appellants.
Donald Brenner, Tappan, N.Y., for respondent.
FRED T. SANTUCCI, J.P., DANIEL W. JOY, SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, ROBERT W. SCHMIDT, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, and the motion is denied without prejudice to renewal upon completion of discovery.
Upon the record presented, the Supreme Court erred in granting the plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability. There was no evidence presented as to whether the plaintiff's actions in response to the emergency situation created when the defendants' vehicle crossed a double yellow line were reasonable, or whether any conduct by the plaintiff contributed to the cause of the automobile accident. These facts are exclusively within the knowledge of the plaintiff and, therefore, summary judgment should have been denied, without prejudice to renewal upon the completion of discovery ( see, CPLR 3212[f]; Hentschel v. Robert Campbell Carpet Servs., 256 A.D.2d 500 [2d Dept., Dec. 21, 1998]).