First Department Affirms Dismissal Of General Contractor

May 03, 2018

The Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the dismissal of all causes of action against Skanska USA Civil Northeast, Inc.  arising from an automobile accident that took place at an intersection formed by the offramp of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, which was undergoing reconstruction at the time.  The co-defendant driver argued that the placement of a temporary traffic signal as part of the roadway construction project was improper and was placed in  a way that prevented her from seeing the signal as she was descending the exit ramp. Partner James Walsh used the factual record to demonstrate that the accident was nothing more than a hit-in-the-rear case, that the plaintiff never looked to her left before entering the intersection and, in any event, the physical evidence established that the co-defendant struck plaintiff’s vehicle in the rear after the plaintiff had already made a left turn and was proceeding straight.  The Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s finding that traffic signal was not a proximate cause of the collision and ruled that the co-defendant driver was the sole proximate cause of the collision.

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