Opinion
04-23-2015
Ray FORSTER, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Alexandru NOVIC, et al., Defendants–Respondents.
Raskin & Kremins, LLP, New York (Michael Kremins of counsel), for appellant. Baker, McEvoy, Morrissey & Moskovits, P.C., Brooklyn (Robert D. Grace of counsel), for Alexandru Novic and Mohammad Islam, respondents. Russo, Apoznanski & Tambasco, Melville (Yamile Al–Sullami of counsel), for Carlos Chavez and Robert Chavez, respondents.
Raskin & Kremins, LLP, New York (Michael Kremins of counsel), for appellant.
Baker, McEvoy, Morrissey & Moskovits, P.C., Brooklyn (Robert D. Grace of counsel), for Alexandru Novic and Mohammad Islam, respondents.
Russo, Apoznanski & Tambasco, Melville (Yamile Al–Sullami of counsel), for Carlos Chavez and Robert Chavez, respondents.
Opinion
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Lucindo Suarez, J.), entered on or about December 2, 2013, which granted defendants' motions for summary judgment dismissing the complaint as against them on the issue of serious injury within the meaning of Insurance Law § 5102(d), unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Defendants established prima facie that plaintiff did not sustain “significant disfigurement” (Insurance Law § 5102[d] ) as a result of the motor vehicle accident. Their plastic surgeon described the scar on plaintiff's forehead as “well healed” and “barely perceptible,” and their neurologist noted that the scar was “hardly visible”; a photograph taken by the plastic surgeon bears out these descriptions (see Christopher V. v. James A. Leasing, Inc., 115 A.D.3d 462, 982 N.Y.S.2d 32 [1st Dept.2014] ; Sidibe v. Cordero, 79 A.D.3d 536, 913 N.Y.S.2d 78 [1st Dept.2010] ). In opposition, plaintiff failed to submit a recent photograph of the scar to rebut defendants' showing (see Aguilar v. Hicks, 9 A.D.3d 318, 781 N.Y.S.2d 318 [1st Dept.2004] ).
SWEENY, J.P., ANDRIAS, MANZANET–DANIELS, CLARK, JJ., concur.