In D’Augustino v. Bryan Auto Parts Inc., 2017 Slip Op 05708 (2d Dept. 2017), defendant Boyle parked his car on a street near Bryan Auto Parts to obtain a New York State Inspection. Prior to conducting the inspection, defendant Rattray, a mechanic working for Bryan Auto Parts, drove Boyle’s car, intending to move it in to the garage for the inspection.

On the way from where Boyle parked the car into the garage, Rattray came upon an intersection where he was to stop at a stop sign. At that time, plaintiffs, who had the right of way through the intersection and no stop sign, were travelling through when the Boyle vehicle struck the plaintiffs in the side in the middle of the intersection. Rattray claimed that he attempted to stop but that despite his efforts the brakes were not working and he could not get the car to stop before hitting plaintiffs.

The lower Court granted the mechanic’s motion for summary judgment wherein they claimed that they were free from negligence under the “emergency doctrine.”  The defendants claimed that they had no knowledge that the brakes were broken and that Boyle did not tell them that there were issues with the brakes when he dropped off the vehicle.

The Appellate Division reversed the lower court finding that the shop and mechanic failed to show that there are no questions of fact as to whether an emergency actually occurred and as to whether Rattray acted reasonably under the circumstances to attempt to avoid the accident.  There was no corroboration of the brake failure, and in fact, defendant Rattray apparently repaired the brakes shortly after the accident.

The above decision reinforces how difficult it is for a defendant in New York, even one who did not own or maintain the vehicle, to obtain summary judgment in their favor in motor vehicle accidents, especially where the plaintiffs had the right of way.  Thanks to Dana Purcaro for her contribution to this post.  Please email Brian Gibbons with any questions.