Cheryl H. Daniels v. New York City Transit

Opinion

State of New York Court of Appeals This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York Reports.

No. 51 SSM 1 Cheryl H. Daniels, Respondent, v.

New York City Transit Authority, Appellant.

Submitted by Harriet Wong, for appellant. Submitted by Brian J. Isaac, for respondent.

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On review of submissions pursuant to section 500.11 of the Rules, order reversed, with costs, and a new trial ordered. In these circumstances, the trial court properly admitted plaintiff’s expert testimony regarding non-mandatory gap standards promulgated by the American Public Transit Association and the Public Transportation Safety Board (see De Long v County of Erie, 60 NY2d 296, 307 [1983]). However, Supreme Court abused its discretion as a matter of law by admitting evidence of prior accidents at New York City subway stations involving the gap between the train car and platform in the absence of a showing that the relevant conditions of those accidents were substantially the same as plaintiff’s accident (see Hyde v County of Rensselaer, 51 NY2d 927, 929 [1980]; Gilliard v Long Is. R.R. Co., 45 NY2d 996, 997 [1978]). Chief Judge DiFiore and Judges Rivera, Stein, Fahey, Garcia, Wilson and Feinman concur.

Decided March 24, 2020