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Fatumata B. v. Pioneer Transportation Corp.
Citations: 118 A.D.3d 486; 988 N.Y.S.2d 31
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; June 10, 2014; New York; State Appellate Court
The Supreme Court of Bronx County affirmed the decision to grant Jorge A. Soto's motion for summary judgment, dismissing the complaint against him. Witnesses, including Soto, testified that the infant plaintiff ran into Soto’s vehicle from between two parked school buses. Although Soto did not explicitly invoke the emergency doctrine in his pleadings, the court found it appropriate to consider it as part of his affirmative defenses, which included the claim that the accident was solely due to the infant plaintiff's negligence in crossing outside of a crosswalk. Soto demonstrated he was driving at a safe speed of approximately 15 miles per hour, that the school buses had no flashing lights on, and that the infant plaintiff unexpectedly darted into the road, thereby establishing his entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. The plaintiff failed to present a triable issue of fact; while the infant plaintiff claimed to have walked into the street, he also acknowledged that he came from between the buses without seeing Soto’s vehicle and that Soto had no chance to stop. The court concluded that there were no factual disputes regarding Soto’s speed being excessive, noting that the absence of flashing lights on the buses and lack of evidence indicating children were entering or exiting them supported this finding. Additionally, a general statement from a school bus driver suggesting Soto was driving "a little fast" was insufficient to contest the established facts about his speed. The court dismissed the plaintiff's other arguments as unconvincing, with the decision concurring across the judges present.