MORALES v. Hambone Management Corp., et al., Defendants. (2018)

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Kenneth L. Thompson, Jr., J.), entered on or about July 24, 2017, which granted the motion of defendants Consolidated Bus Transit, Inc. (CBT) and Dileny Abreu for summary judgment dismissing the complaint as against them, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiff, a passenger in a livery cab owned by defendant Hambone Management Corp., and operated by defendant Rafael Mejia, was allegedly injured when the livery cab rear-ended a yellow school bus owned by defendant CBT and operated by defendant Dileny Abreu.  The cab driver's lone excuse for rear-ending the bus, namely, that it made a sudden stop, mid-block, is insufficient to rebut the presumption of negligence (see Profita v. Diaz, 100 A.D.3d 481, 954 N.Y.S.2d 40 [1st Dept. 2012] ).  Sworn testimony and statements, including the testimony of the cab driver and plaintiff, although differing as to the movements of the bus immediately prior to the accident, were consistent to the extent they established, without contradiction, that the cab rear-ended the bus, that the cab driver was traveling too close to the rear of the bus to stop in time to avert a collision with it, and that the cab driver failed to offer a non-negligent explanation for rear-ending the bus or evidence showing that he maintained a safe distance between his vehicle and the bus (see generally Chame v. Kronen, 150 A.D.3d 622, 55 N.Y.S.3d 228 [1st Dept. 2017] ).