Olivares v Andacky

Holding The court affirmed the summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint because the defendant established a prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. The evidence demonstrated that the plaintiff was negligent for driving across multiple lanes of traffic and that the defendant had only seconds to react, negating any comparative negligence.

The court’s words

a driver with the right-of-way who has only seconds to react to a vehicle which has failed to yield is not comparatively negligent for failing to avoid the collision

2026 NY Slip Op 05321, at the official text

the plaintiff was negligent in driving his vehicle out of the gas station and directly across two or three southbound lanes, through a gap in traffic

2026 NY Slip Op 05321, at the official text

both the plaintiff and the defendant saw each other's vehicles only a second before the impact occurred and that the defendant was not at fault

2026 NY Slip Op 05321, at the official text