New York Appellate Division Grants Summary Judgment, Holding Driver With Right-of-Way Not Comparatively Negligent in Police Pursuit Collision

The plaintiff brought this negligence action for damages after he sustained injuries as a passenger in a vehicle that was fleeing from police. During the pursuit, the vehicle in which the passenger was sitting collided with the defendant’s vehicle at an intersection. 

The defendant moved for summary judgment, asserting that he was operating his vehicle in a lawful and prudent manner, and was not comparatively negligent for failing to yield to a vehicle when he had the right-of-way. 

Upon reviewing the record and citing substantive state case law, the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, held that the defendant was not comparatively negligent. In support of this holding, the court highlighted that a driver who has the right-of-way is entitled to anticipate that other drivers will obey the traffic laws that require them to yield. It further acknowledged that, even though the driver with the right-of-way has a duty to use reasonable care to avoid a collision, that driver is not comparatively negligent for failing to yield when he only has seconds to react to an unyielding vehicle. 

Therefore, the appellate court concluded that because the defendant met his initial burden, and because the plaintiff and the remaining defendants failed to raise a triable issue of fact, the defendant’s motion for summary judgment must be granted. 

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