Webster Szanyi LLP partners Mike McClaren and Ryan Smith recently secured an Order from the Fourth Department reversing the Court below and ordering dismissal of a complaint on behalf of the Town of Java. The Plaintiff alleged that her daughter had been driving along a Town road when she lost control of her vehicle on a slippery road, overturned, and slid upside down into a pond. The driver was killed in the accident. Plaintiff claimed that the road was not properly maintained and that a guardrail should have been constructed along the edge of the pond. Plaintiff sought damages for wrongful death, fear of impeding death, conscious pain and suffering and emotional distress.
The lower Court denied the Town’s motion for summary judgment. The Fourth Department reversed, holding that there were no standards or regulations mandating that a guardrail be installed. The Court also found that Plaintiff submitted no proof of any prior accidents or incidents. Finally, the Court found that the Plaintiff’s expert’s opinions were speculative and therefore rejected them. The appellate division decision was unanimous. The decision can be located at 2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 09512.