Opinion
2012-01-10
George KOTZIAS, appellant, v. Constantidis PANAGIOTIS, respondent.
Sacco & Fillas, LLP, Whitestone, N.Y. (Luigi Brandimarte of counsel), for appellant. Robert P. Tusa (Sweetbaum & Sweetbaum, Lake Success, N.Y. [Marshall D. Sweetbaum], of counsel), for respondent.
Sacco & Fillas, LLP, Whitestone, N.Y. (Luigi Brandimarte of counsel), for appellant. Robert P. Tusa (Sweetbaum & Sweetbaum, Lake Success, N.Y. [Marshall D. Sweetbaum], of counsel), for respondent.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Grays, J.), entered September 17, 2010, which granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.
In support of his motion for summary judgment, the defendant made a prima facie showing of his entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by presenting evidence that he approached and entered the intersection with the right-of-way, and that the plaintiff violated Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1142(a) by failing to yield the right-of-way, which constituted negligence as a matter of law ( see Thompson v. Schmitt, 74 A.D.3d 789, 902 N.Y.S.2d 606; McCain v. Larosa, 41 A.D.3d 792, 793, 838 N.Y.S.2d 663; Gergis v. Miccio, 39 A.D.3d 468, 834 N.Y.S.2d 253), and resulted in the subject accident. Inasmuch as the defendant had the right-of-way, he was entitled to anticipate that the plaintiff would obey traffic laws which required the plaintiff to yield ( see Yelder v. Walters, 64 A.D.3d 762, 764, 883 N.Y.S.2d 290; *556 Thompson v. Schmitt, 74 A.D.3d at 790, 902 N.Y.S.2d 606; Klein v. Crespo, 50 A.D.3d 745, 745–746, 855 N.Y.S.2d 633). In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.