Category Archives: Motor Vehicle Law

This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.

Was Decedent “Visibly Intoxicated ”At Time He Was Served Drinks So As To Implicate Dram Act Liability?

The New York Alcoholic Beverage Law prohibits the sale of liquor to an intoxicated person. The Dram Shop Act creates a private civil cause of action against those who overserve drinks in favor of third-parties who suffer personal injuries as a result of a violation of the ABC Law. But to trigger Dram Shop liability a claimant must establish that the miscreant was “visibly intoxicated”—a fact and case specific burden.

Michael Stanley, Thomas Kelly, and five other men met at the home of Thomas and Jillian Kelly on March 17, 2017; the group left the Kelly’s home, with Stanley driving a snowmobile owned by the Kelly’s; the group stopped at the Boonville Hotel, Inc. and consumed alcohol there; and after leaving the Hotel the group got gas and began the return trip to the Kelly’s home. At that point, Stanley drove the snowmobile into a concrete overpass, resulting in his death. The autopsy report indicated the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries due to snowmobile accident with a fixed object. The toxicology report showed Stanley had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .16%. The Oneida County Sheriff’s Department concluded that speed and alcohol were the two biggest contributing factors to the single snowmobile accident.

This was originally published on the SGR Blog.

Was “Emergency Doctrine” a Defense?

Andrew DiNatale sued to recover damages for injuries he allegedly sustained on April 29, 2015 while riding a bicycle. He was struck by a motor vehicle owned by Mac Mechanical Conveyor (MCC) and operated by Nicholas Gerbano.

DiNatale moved for partial summary judgment in his favor as to MMC/Gerbano’s negligence, arguing that their actions were the sole proximate cause of the accident. DiNatale also sought an order striking their affirmative defenses related to “negligence liability.” In support of the motion, DiNatale submitted his own affidavit, various photographs, and a certified copy of an MV-104A police accident report.

This originally appeared on the SGR Blog.

A deliveryman drives his  bicycle against traffic on a one way street.  A pedestrian crosses in the middle of the block. The biker hits the jay- walker. Litigation ensues. Both violated the law.  Who is at fault?

Antoinette Montague was struck by an employee  of T&W Restaurant, Inc. while he was making deliveries on a bicycle. The employee was riding the bike against the one-way direction of travel on East 55^th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues– a violation of the Vehicle and Traffic Law.