Opinion
April 29, 1998
Appeal from Order of Supreme Court, Erie County, Mahoney, J. — Set Aside Verdict.
Present — Denman, P.J., Green, Wisner, Pigott, Jr., and Fallon, JJ.
Order unanimously affirmed without costs. Memorandum: Supreme Court properly denied plaintiffs' motion to set aside the jury verdict. A jury verdict should not be set aside as against the weight of evidence unless it is palpably wrong and there is no fair interpretation of the evidence to support the jury's conclusion or the verdict is not one reasonable persons could have rendered after receiving conflicting evidence (see, Petrovski v. Fornes, 125 A.D.2d 972, 973, lv denied 69 N.Y.2d 608). A fair interpretation of the evidence supports the jury verdict of no cause of action. Based upon the conflicting proof adduced at trial, the jury could rationally conclude that the preponderance of the evidence did not support plaintiffs' version of the accident (see, Felgenhauer v. Atlantic Pac. Tea Co., 94 A.D.2d 737).
We reject plaintiffs' contention that the court improperly permitted defendant to exercise its peremptory challenges to exclude two of the three black prospective jurors. Defendant's attorney offered a race-neutral explanation for those challenges, and the court's acceptance of that explanation as nonpretextual is entitled to great deference (see, People v. Hernandez, 75 N.Y.2d 350, 356, affd 500 U.S. 352; Ancrum v. Eisenberg, 206 A.D.2d 324, 326, appeal dismissed 85 N.Y.2d 853, 1027). Further, the court was entitled to reject the contrary determination of the Judicial Hearing Officer who supervised jury selection with respect to one of the challenged jurors (see, Repka v. Repka, 186 A.D.2d 119, 122-123).
Finally, we conclude that the court's charge to the jury on the issue of defendant's notice of the allegedly defective condition adequately conveyed the applicable law (see, McCluskey v. West Bradford Corp., 177 A.D.2d 744, 745-746, lv denied 80 N.Y.2d 753; Clinton v. Johnson, 167 A.D.2d 772, 772-773).