Koff v Lawson

Holding The Appellate Division reversed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment because the defendant failed to establish as a matter of law that she was not negligent or that her negligence was not a proximate cause of the accident. The court found that the defendant’s own evidence raised triable issues of fact regarding whether she could have seen the plaintiff and failed to exercise due care.

The court’s words

defendant's own evidence raises triable issues of fact whether she 'could have seen [plaintiff] before the accident and failed to exercise due care to avoid the accident'

2026 NY Slip Op 04582, at the official text

the pedestrian had already crossed a few lanes of traffic and had done so at a pace faster than a walk but not fully a run

2026 NY Slip Op 04582, at the official text

merely encountering an emergency does not completely absolve one from liability; it simply requires that one's conduct be measured against that of a reasonable person

2026 NY Slip Op 04582, at the official text

defendant failed, however, to meet her initial burden with respect to either her negligence or proximate cause

2026 NY Slip Op 04582, at the official text