In Krajniak v. Jin Y Trading, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed a summary judgment for plaintiff on the issue of liability in a car accident case, due to the defendant’s violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1141.
The statute provides.
The driver of a vehicle intending to turn to the left within an intersection or into an alley, private road, or driveway shall yield the right of way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction which is within the intersection or so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.
According to the court:
[P]laintiff demonstrated her prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability. The plaintiff established that the sole proximate cause of the subject accident was the defendant driver Yiu Chau Tang’s violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1141 in attempting to make a left turn when it was not reasonably safe to do so, directly into the rear driver’s side door of the plaintiff’s vehicle, which was lawfully present in the intersection and which the defendant driver admitted that he failed to see through the proper use of his senses.
Plaintiff also established her freedom from comparative fault. Since defendants failed to raise any triable issues of fact in opposition, plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment.