Opinion
12709 Index No. 21829/18E Case No. 2020-02066
12-22-2020
Nancy RIVERA, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Yolanda G. HAYWOOD, Defendant–Respondent.
Sacco & Fillas, LLP, Astoria (Boris Bernstein of counsel), for appellant. James G. Bilello & Associates, Hicksville (Susan J. Mitola of counsel), for respondent.
Sacco & Fillas, LLP, Astoria (Boris Bernstein of counsel), for appellant.
James G. Bilello & Associates, Hicksville (Susan J. Mitola of counsel), for respondent.
Acosta, P.J., Oing, Scarpulla, Mendez, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (John R. Higgitt, J.), entered August 14, 2019, which granted defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Defendant established prima facie that the collision between her vehicle and plaintiff's vehicle was caused by plaintiff's failure to yield the right of way to defendant's vehicle at the stop sign at the intersection (see Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1142[a] ; Namisnak v. Martin, 244 A.D.2d 258, 260, 664 N.Y.S.2d 435 [1st Dept. 1997] ).
In opposition, plaintiff failed to raise an issue of fact either to rebut the presumption of negligence arising from her failure to yield the right of way to defendant's vehicle or to demonstrate that any negligence on defendant's part contributed to the accident (see Martinez v. Cofer, 128 A.D.3d 421, 8 N.Y.S.3d 212 [1st Dept. 2015] ; Murchison v. Incognoli, 5 A.D.3d 271, 773 N.Y.S.2d 299 [1st Dept. 2004] ). Plaintiff's speculation that defendant may have been at fault because she testified that she did not observe the actual impact between the two vehicles and did not know which direction plaintiff was coming from is insufficient to raise an issue of fact, given the unrefuted showing of her own negligence (see Estate of Bachman v. Hong, 169 A.D.3d 436, 92 N.Y.S.3d 281 [1st Dept. 2019] ; Flores v. City of New York, 66 A.D.3d 599, 888 N.Y.S.2d 27 [1st Dept. 2009] ).