Pedestrian Literally “Run Down”; Case Continues

trampled runnerIn Derezeas v. Robert H. Glover & Assoc., Inc., decided October 16, 2014, the Appellate Division, First Department, held that the Supreme Court properly denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment. That is, plaintiff gets to have her case decided by a jury.

Plaintiff was a pedestrian who was injured when an individual participating in defendant’s running class ran into her causing her to fall to the ground.

In affirming the denial of summary judgment, the court held:

The record shows that defendant supervised the group run, selected the route on an enclosed promenade at a relatively busy time of day, and provided coaches whose responsibilities included making sure the runners stayed to the left and warning of pedestrians or other hazards. According to the individual who ran into plaintiff, his position in the group of more than 50 runners made it impossible to see plaintiff until it was too late. Under the circumstances presented, defendant owed a duty of reasonable care to pedestrians sharing the esplanade with its running class, and triable issues of fact exist as to whether such duty was breached. (Emphasis added.)

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