Opinion
2001-09773
Argued January 6, 2003.
January 27, 2003.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, etc., the plaintiffs appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Thomas, J.), dated September 10, 2001, which, upon the granting of the defendant's motion pursuant to CPLR 4401 at the close of the plaintiffs' evidence for judgment as a matter of law, is in favor of the defendant and against them, dismissing the complaint.
Weiss Rosenbloom, P.C., New York, N.Y. (Hiram A. Raldiris of counsel), for appellants.
Shayne, Dachs, Stanisci, Corker Sauer, Mineola, N.Y. (Jonathan A. Dachs of counsel), for respondent.
Before: FRED T. SANTUCCI, J.P., CORNELIUS J. O'BRIEN, GLORIA GOLDSTEIN, BARRY A. COZIER, JJ.
The Supreme Court correctly granted the defendant's motion pursuant to CPLR 4401 to dismiss the complaint. There was no rational process by which the jury could have found in favor of the plaintiffs (see Szczerbiak v. Pilat, 90 N.Y.2d 553, 556). "In order to prevail at trial in a negligence case, a plaintiff must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant's negligence was a proximate cause of [the] plaintiff's injuries. A plaintiff is not required to exclude every other possible cause, but need only offer evidence from which proximate cause may be reasonably inferred" (Burgos v. Aqueduct Realty Corp., 92 N.Y.2d 544, 550; see Babino v. City of New York, 234 A.D.2d 241). Here, the plaintiffs failed to meet that standard.
The plaintiffs' remaining contentions are without merit.
SANTUCCI, J.P., O'BRIEN, GOLDSTEIN and COZIER, JJ., concur.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, with costs.