M.L., etc. v. City of New York, et al., Successful Summary Judgment 2019
Aigul E. Sarvarova and Angelo J. Bongiorno were successful in obtaining summary judgment in the case of M.L., etc. v. City of New York, et al., Queens County, Justice Ulysses B. Leverett. The plaintiff, a 3 ½ year-old infant at the time of the alleged accident, was a passenger on a school bus that was involved in a collision with another motor vehicle. The infant plaintiff, by his mother and natural guardian, brought an action claiming personal injuries, naming The City of New York, New York City Department of Education, the respective drivers, the school bus company, and the school that he attended at the time, as defendants. Plaintiff alleged inter alia that the City defendants were negligent in the maintenance of the stop sign at the intersection where the subject accident took place. In particular, the plaintiff claimed that there was a missing stop sign at the subject intersection, which caused the alleged accident. Upon conclusion of discovery, the City Defendants moved for summary judgment arguing inter alia that they lacked prior notice of the allegedly missing stop sign. That motion was Denied by Judge Leverett, and The City defendants moved to reargue. At oral arguments before Judge Leverett, we were able to demonstrate to Judge Leverett that he overlooked the evidence showing that after receiving notice, the City replaced the stop sign about two weeks before the accident and did not receive notice of the stop sign missing again until after the accident had occurred. After re-evaluation of the evidence that we presented, Judge Leverett Reversed his prior decision and Granted the City defendants’ motion for summary judgment, holding that the evidence showed that the City defendants did not have notice of the allegedly missing stop sign prior to the subject accident.
