Iaconis Fusco, LLP’s Joseph P. Fusco, Rosemarie Iaconis, and Dina Aversano DiBlasi recently won summary judgment in a pedestrian knockdown case (B.M., an infant under the age of 18 by her mother and natural guardian, Cadijah Morba v. Orion Fernandez and Juan A. Almonte Abreu) in which they defended a rideshare driver in a claim by an injured infant plaintiff and her mother.

The defendant, Juan A. Almonte Abreu, a rideshare driver, asserted that on October 31, 2018, at approximately 7:45AM, on Linwood Street in Brooklyn, NY, the infant plaintiff, who was in sixth grade at the time, suddenly dashed into the one-way street from between two parked cars. Mr. Abreu testified that he did not see the pedestrian prior to his vehicle striking her---and that he was traveling at a low rate of speed at the time of the impact, having just stopped seconds before to drop off a passenger. Mr. Abreu had dashcam footage of the incident that corroborated his testimony. Mr. Abreu moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint at the close of discovery.

In opposition, the plaintiffs submitted only an attorney’s affirmation, arguing that the defendant failed to meet his initial burden to eliminate all material questions of fact as to whether his negligence contributed to the accident. Plaintiffs further argued that as the accident occurred in front of a school at time of day during which students typically arrive at school, the infant plaintiff’s actions were completely foreseeable.

The Supreme Court found the plaintiffs’ arguments meritless and held that plaintiffs failed to raise a triable issue of fact. Moreover, the court found that plaintiffs’ contention that Mr. Abreu could have avoided the accident had he timely observed the infant plaintiff was unsupported by evidence.

Ultimately, the defendant’s submissions, namely the deposition testimony of Mr. Abreu and the dashcam video of the accident, established prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law and dismissal of the complaint.