KAUFMAN v. GMAC (2007)

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.

Eric KAUFMAN, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Joseph GILBERT, Defendant, Kimco Realty Corporation, et al., Defendants-Respondents, GMAC Leasing Corporation, Defendant-Appellant.

Decided: November 15, 2007

LIPPMAN, P.J., ANDRIAS, NARDELLI, GONZALEZ, KAVANAGH, JJ.

Fabiani Cohen & Hall, LLP, New York (Mary L. Maloney of counsel), for appellant. The Law Office of Steven Cohn, P.C., Carle Place (Susan E. Dantzig of counsel), for Eric Kaufman, respondent. Brody, O'Connor & O'Connor, Northport (Joseph P. Minasi of counsel), for Kimco Realty Corporation and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., respondents.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Milton A. Tingling, J.), entered August 2, 2006, which granted plaintiff's motion for summary judgment as to liability and defendants-respondents' cross motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and all cross claims as against them, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The facts of this case, including defendant Gilbert's testimony that before the accident his view was unobstructed for more than 30 feet and not impaired by any lack of lighting and that he had backed up his vehicle only 15 feet before striking plaintiff, support the court's finding as a matter of law that the proximate cause of the accident was Gilbert's negligence in reversing without taking adequate precautions and not the lighting in the parking lot (see e.g. Garcia v. Verizon N.Y., Inc., 10 A.D.3d 339, 781 N.Y.S.2d 93 [2004]; Sarmiento v. C & E Assocs., 40 A.D.3d 524, 526, 837 N.Y.S.2d 57 [2007] ). GMAC's contention that issues of fact exist as to plaintiff's comparative negligence is unsupported by the record.

GMAC's claim of collusion is improperly raised for the first time on appeal and we decline to review it (see Consi v. 531 Hudson St. Ltd. Liab. Co., 28 A.D.3d 370, 371, 813 N.Y.S.2d 713 [2006] ).

We have considered GMAC's remaining arguments and find them without merit.

Was this helpful?

Why was this helpful?

Easy to understand

Solved my problem

Other

Why was this not helpful?

Missing the information I need

Too complicated / too many steps

Out of date

Other

Thank you for your feedback!

Trusted by Consumers. Recognized by AI.

As the largest network of trusted legal brands, we help firms build authority across the platforms consumers and AI systems rely on most. Our network helps attorneys strengthen visibility, credibility, and preference where legal decisions begin.

Explore the Network