| Dimou v Iatauro |
| 2010 NY Slip Op 03063 [72 AD3d 732] |
| April 13, 2010 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| Thomas Dimou, Appellant, v Ann Marie Iatauro et al.,Respondents. |
—[*1] Geiger & Verrill, Jericho, N.Y. (Kathleen M. Geiger of counsel), for respondents Ann MarieIatauro and Brittany S. Calhoun. Tonetti & Ambrosino (Sweetbaum & Sweetbaum, Lake Success, N.Y. [Marshall D.Sweetbaum], of counsel), for respondent Baldassare Sarnelli.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals from an order ofthe Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Costello, J.), dated December 15, 2008, which granted themotion of the defendants Ann Marie Iatauro and Brittany S. Calhoun, and the separate motion ofthe defendant Baldassare Sarnelli, for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar asasserted against them.
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with one bill of costs payable to the respondentsappearing separately and filing separate briefs.
This action arises from an automobile accident which occurred on April 2, 2004, at theintersection of Central Avenue and West 9th Street in Deer Park. On that date, the defendantBrittany S. Calhoun was driving a vehicle owned by the defendant Ann Marie Iatauro eastboundon Central Avenue when her vehicle struck a vehicle being driven by the plaintiff. It isundisputed that the only traffic control device at the intersection was a stop sign governing theplaintiff's direction of travel on West 9th Street. At his deposition, the plaintiff admitted that hefailed to come to a complete stop at the stop sign before entering the intersection, and that he didnot see the vehicle being driven by Calhoun until it hit him. However, the plaintiff alleges thathis view of the stop sign was blocked by a landscaping truck owned by the defendant BaldassareSarnelli, which was illegally parked within 30 feet of the stop sign in violation of Vehicle andTraffic Law § 1202 (a) (2) (c). After the completion of depositions, Calhoun and Iatauromoved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against them, andSarnelli separately moved for the same relief. The Supreme Court granted the defendants'separate motions, and we affirm.
Calhoun and Iatauro made a prima facie showing of their entitlement to judgment as a matterof law through the deposition testimony of the parties. The plaintiff's admitted failures to cometo a complete stop at the stop sign controlling traffic on West 9th Street as required by Vehicleand Traffic [*2]Law § 1172 (a), to yield the right-of-way toCalhoun's approaching vehicle as required by Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1142 (a), and tosee that vehicle until the moment of impact, demonstrate his negligence as a matter of law (see Khan v Nelson, 68 AD3d1062 [2009]; Yelder v Walters,64 AD3d 762, 763-764 [2009]; Rahaman v Abodeledhman, 64 AD3d 552, 553 [2009]; Jaramillo v Torres, 60 AD3d 734,735 [2009]; Batts v Page, 51 AD3d833, 834 [2008]). In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact as towhether Calhoun, who had the right-of-way and was entitled to anticipate that the plaintiff wouldobey traffic laws requiring him to yield, was comparatively negligent in failing to avoid thecollision (see Strocchia v City of NewYork, 70 AD3d 926 [2010]; Yelder v Walters, 64 AD3d at 764; Rahaman vAbodeledhman, 64 AD3d at 554; Jaramillo v Torres, 60 AD3d at 735; Maliza v Puerto-Rican Transp. Corp.,50 AD3d 650, 652 [2008]).
Sarnelli also made a prima facie showing of his entitlement to judgment as a matter of lawby submitting evidentiary proof that none of the trucks he owned on the date of the accidentmatched the description of the landscaping truck which allegedly blocked the plaintiff's view ofthe stop sign at the time of the accident, and that, in any event, none of his trucks were parkednear the intersection where the accident occurred (see Alvarez v Prospect Hosp., 68NY2d 320, 324 [1986]). In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact (seeZuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 563 [1980]). Rivera, J.P., Florio, Miller andEng, JJ., concur.