Category Archives: Motor Vehicle Law

Court Determines Liability of Driver, Operator and Owner of Box Truck

Louis Dowd allegedly was injured while attempting to get into the driver’s seat of his parked vehicle on Wythe Avenue in Brooklyn. The block of Wythe Avenue is a one-way street, with one lane for travel and one lane on each side of the street for parking. The accident occurred when Dowd opened the front driver’s side door of his parked vehicle, and the door was struck by a box truck that was driving past his vehicle. The box truck was operated by Sean McNay, owned by Kharieh Bros. and allegedly leased to the CBS Corporation.

Dowd sued McNay, Kharieh and CBS to recover damages for personal injuries, alleging that they were negligent in their ownership, maintenance, and operation of the box truck. They moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. Supreme Court granted the motion. Dowd appealed.

Was Owner Liable to Estate for Negligent Entrustment?

            Samuel Shepard, who was 18 years old and had a driver’s license at the time, and his brother, Frank Shepard, saw the 2010 Lamborghini of Michael Power in the parking lot of a bar in Suffolk County. Upon exiting the bar, Power saw Samuel and Frank, both of whom he knew previously, admiring the Lamborghini. Thereafter, Power permitted Frank and then Samuel to drive the Lamborghini while Power was a passenger. While Samuel was driving, he lost control of the Lamborghini, which hit a guardrail, causing him to be ejected from the Lamborghini and to sustain injuries from which he ultimately died.

Maria Shepard, Samuel’s mother, filed a lawsuit against Power asserting causes of action alleging negligence, negligent entrustment, vicarious liability predicated on Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388, and wrongful death. Power moved to dismiss the third cause of action alleging vicarious liability predicated on VTL§ 388.  Supreme Court denied the motion and, in a prior appeal, the Court reversed so much of Supreme Court’s order as denied Power’s motion, holding that VTL § 388 did not permit a negligent driver, or the driver’s estate, to recover damages against the owner of a vehicle who permitted another to drive the vehicle for injuries resulting from the driver’s own negligence.

Was Absentee Car Owner’s Negligence Proximate Cause of Death

 Erika Michelle Strebel was operating a vehicle owned by Joseph Biamonte with his consent. The vehicle ran out of gas on Montauk Highway, a two-lane highway with a speed limit of 50 miles per hour. Strebel stopped the vehicle on the full asphalt shoulder, which was painted white at that location. Strebel was standing outside of the vehicle with a gas can when she was fatally struck by a pickup truck operated by a non-party, hit-and-run driver.

Stephen Biamonte, as administrator of Strebel’s estate sued Joseph. Stephen alleged that Joseph knew that his vehicle had a malfunctioning gas gauge but nonetheless “allowed [Strebel]. . . to borrow and use” the vehicle. And further alleged that Joseph negligently failed to maintain the vehicle in proper working order and loaned the vehicle to Strebel while it was in a state of disrepair– and that negligence caused Strebel’s injuries.

This was originally published on the SGR Blog.

Were Trucker, County, or Police Liable for Driver’s Death?

A negligence/wrongful death action arose from a motor vehicle accident in which decedent, Daniel Krehl, drove into the rear of a tractor trailer parked on the shoulder of Montauk Highway, Suffolk County, New York. William Siberio owned and operated the tractor trailer. The Estate sued Siberio, Suffolk County, the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) and Police Officer Anthony W. Mills.

Siberio asserted that he was free from any liability and the sole proximate cause of the accident was due to Krehl’s speeding and driving while intoxicated at approximately 2:35 a.m., under foggy weather conditions.