Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division Affirmed the Supreme Court’s Grant of the Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment on the Issue of Liability

In Peterson, the defendant’s vehicle struck the plaintiff’s when the defendant attempted to take a left turn onto an unmarked, one-way street and found that a third vehicle was exiting the same street. The plaintiff moved for summary judgment, asserting the defendant was negligent per se because he violated the Vehicle and Traffic Law §1141. The defendant opposed the motion and sought to dismiss the complaint based on the emergency doctrine affirmative defense. However, the emergency doctrine only applies where the “emergency situation [is] not of the driver’s own making.” Here, the Supreme Court found that because the defendant failed to see the non-party vehicle before attempting to make the turn, the emergency was one of his own making. Therefore, the speculative theory that the plaintiff may have been able to avoid the collision is insufficient to preclude summary judgment. 

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