History
  • No items yet
midpage
Koch v. Levenson
225 A.D.2d 592
N.Y. App. Div.
1996
Check Treatment

Contrary to the appellants’ contention, the Supreme Court properly awarded summary judgment to Sheldon Levenson dismissing all complaints, third-party complaints, and cross claims insofar as asserted against him. Levenson was driving his automobile north along Peninsula Boulevard in Rockville Center when a driver in the southbound lane lost control of his vehicle, which crossed the center median, striking the Levenson vehicle head on.

It is axiomatic that a driver is not required to anticipate *593that an automobile traveling in the opposite direction will cross over into oncoming traffic (see, Goff v Goudreau, 222 AD2d 650; Mangano v New York City Hous. Auth., 218 AD2d 787). Indeed, such a scenario presents an emergency situation, and the actions of the driver presented with such a situation must be judged in that context (see, Greifer v Schneider, 215 AD2d 354; Glick v City of New York, 191 AD2d 677, 678). Here, Levenson was faced with an instantaneous cross-over emergency when the offending vehicle suddenly shot into the oncoming lane of traffic, leaving him with virtually no time to react (see, Williams v Econ, 221 AD2d 429; Mangano v New York City Hous. Auth., supra). We find no merit to the appellant’s contention that Levenson could have taken evasive action because a passenger in his vehicle warned him to "watch out” approximately two or three seconds before the offending vehicle crossed the median. This argument disregards the principle that a driver need not anticipate such a situation (see, Mangano v New York City Hous. Auth., supra; Gouchie v Gill, 198 AD2d 862). Accordingly, the Supreme Court correctly determined that any possible negligence on Levenson’s part did not contribute to the accident (see, Moller v Lieber, 156 AD2d 434). Santucci, J. P., Krausman, Goldstein and Florio, JJ., concur.

Case Details

Case Name: Koch v. Levenson
Court Name: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Date Published: Mar 11, 1996
Citation: 225 A.D.2d 592
Court Abbreviation: N.Y. App. Div.
AI-generated responses must be verified and are not legal advice.
Your Notebook is empty. To add cases, bookmark them from your search, or select Add Cases to extract citations from a PDF or a block of text.