Opinion
No. CA 08-01121.
December 31, 2008.
Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Erie County (Rose H. Sconiers, J.), entered January 7, 2008. The order, among other things, denied the motion of defendant Brian W. Lamb for summary judgment dismissing the complaints and cross claims against him.
COHEN LOMBARDO, P.C., BUFFALO (MELISSA A. CAVAGNARO OF COUNSEL), FOR DEFENDANT-Appellant.
NICHOLAS, PEROT, SMITH, BERNHARDT ZOSH, P.C., AKRON (LAWRENCE A. PEROT OF COUNSEL), FOR PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT JOHN L. CRAIG, JR.
ANDREWS, BERNSTEIN MARANTO, LLP, BUFFALO (ANDREW J. CONNELLY OF COUNSEL), FOR PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT DELISHA M. ROBINSON.
Before: Hurlbutt, J.P., Centra, Fahey and Peradotto, JJ.
It is hereby ordered that the order so appealed from is unanimously affirmed without costs.
Memorandum: Each of the plaintiff's commenced an action seeking damages for injuries each sustained when the vehicle operated by plaintiff Delisha M. Robinson and in which plaintiff John L. Craig, Jr. was a passenger was rear-ended by a vehicle operated by defendant Danielle L. Haynos. When Robinson's vehicle was rear-ended, it collided with a vehicle operated by defendant Brian W. Lamb. The actions thereafter were consolidated. Supreme Court properly denied the motion of Lamb seeking summary judgment dismissing the complaints and cross claims against him. Lamb "failed to meet his burden of establishing that his conduct in stopping his vehicle in the travel lane was not negligent . . ., and that such conduct did not cause or contribute to the accident" ( Owsian v Cobo, 45 AD3d 1368, 1369). Indeed, by his own submissions in support of the motion, Lamb raised triable issues of fact whether his actions "`set into motion an eminently foreseeable chain of events that resulted in [the] collision' between the [Robinson and Haynos] vehicles" ( Sheffer v Critoph, 13 AD3d 1185, 1187).