Auto

Friends Keep Their Promises & Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk (NJ)

Is an individual who volunteers and assures police officers during a car stop of an alleged drunk driver that he will take the drunk driver and his car safety home – but instead relinquishes the car back to the drunk driver before reaching that destination – civilly liable if the drunk driver then collides with and injures another motorist? In this case, Diaz v. Reynoso, police stopped a...Read More

What is Considered an Emergency? (NY)

In Penaranda v. Tesoriero, the Appellate Division, Second Department addressed whether the defendant – Gringhaus was entitled to summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint in a hit-in-the-rear motor vehicle accident. Plaintiff alleged personal injuries in connection with a motor vehicle accident when the defendant – Tesoriero cross a double yellow line, entering the...Read More

Something Borrowed (PA)

Continental Cas. Co. v. Pennsylvania Nat. Mut. Cas, involved a dispute between two (2) insurance carriers arising out of a motor vehicle accident and its subsequent settlement. Specifically, Continental Cas. Co. (Continental) commenced suit against Pennsylvania Nat. Mut. (Penn National) seeking reimbursement from Penn National, under an equitable contribution theory, for settlement sums paid...Read More

A Connecticut Auto Dealer in Pennsylvania’s Court: Personal Jurisdiction over the Internet (PA)

Does the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have personal jurisdiction over an auto dealer in Connecticut? This was the question recently examined by the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas in D&S Auto Sales v. Commercial Sales & Marketing. The Defendant, a Ford dealership located in Mystic, Connecticut filed a preliminary objection to a claim of faulty service and repair of a vehicle...Read More

NYPD Traffic Officer Traffic Owed No Special Duty to Plaintiff Struck by Taxi

On November 1, 2012, an NYPD traffic officer was directing traffic at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and East 10th Street in Manhattan, New York, after the traffic lights were non-operational due to Hurricane Sandy. As the officer was manually directing traffic, a collision occurred at the intersection between a motorcycle driven by the Plaintiff and a taxi. Subsequently, in Mendez v. City of...Read More

Joyride Fails to Bring Joy to Injured Passenger (NJ)

New Jersey motorist Sheavonra Adderly was involved in a one-car collision that caused injury to one of her passengers. That passenger sought coverage under the vehicle’s insurance policy issued by Liberty Mutual. However, Adderly was not the owner of the vehicle involved in the accident, and the policy excluded coverage if a person drives the covered vehicle without a reasonable belief...Read More

Read it and Weep: Plaintiff’s Case Against Insurer Dismissed for Failure to Understand the Insurance Policy (NJ)

In Giselle Polizzi v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey case gave a lesson in policy interpretation following a dispute over an automobile policy. In this case, Giselle Polizzi (“Polizzi”) was injured in a car accident with an underinsured motorist while borrowing her parents’ vehicle. Due to language in an endorsement within...Read More

UIM Coverage and Avoidance of Forum Selection Requirements? Court Holds That’s Too Much to Ask For Following an Invalid Waiver (PA)

In Matthews v. Erie Insurance Group, the plaintiff’s action arose following a motor vehicle accident. The plaintiff appealed from the trial court order sustaining Erie Insurance Group (“Erie”)’s preliminary objections to venue and transferring the case from Philadelphia County to Bucks County. The Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s decision. The Appellant, Matthews, was operating a...Read More

Does The Operator Of A Snowplow Need To Operate By The Rules Of The Road? (NY)

In Kaffash v. Village of Great Neck Estates, the Appellate Division, Second Department addressed whether the defendants were entitled to summary judgment on the issue of liability after the defendant struck the plaintiff while operating a snowplow. On the date in question, one of the defendants was operating a snowplow owned by his employer (co-defendant). While moving the plow in reverse, the...Read More

There is No Such Thing as the “Sudden Emergency Defense” according to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (PA)

In Graham v. Check, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that the “sudden emergency doctrine” should not be understood as a defense to alleged negligent driving. Further, a claimed “sudden emergency” will not diminish the standard of care drivers should exercise. In the early morning hours of March 6, 2018, plaintiff Francis Graham crossed the street without a “walk signal.” He was wearing all...Read More