Ruiz v. Rochester Telephone Co.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York

Ruiz v. Rochester Telephone Co.

195 A.D.2d 981, 600 N.Y.S.2d 879, 1993 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7767

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York·Decided July 16, 1993·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

Order unanimously affirmed with costs. Memorandum: Supreme Court properly denied plaintiff’s motion to dismiss defendant’s second affirmative defense, premised on plaintiff’s failure to use a seat belt. Plaintiff contends that, as the operator of a tractor-trailer, he was not legally required to wear a seat belt (see, Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 151-a, 1229-c). "The fact that the law did not require plaintiff to wear his seat belt at the time of the accident is of no moment” (Gardner v Honda Motor Co., 145 AD2d 41, 47, lv dismissed 74 NY2d 715). A jury should be allowed to consider a plaintiff’s failure to wear an available seat belt in assessing damages (Spier v Barker, 35 NY2d 444, 450). (Appeal from Order of Supreme Court, Ontario County, Curran, J.—Dismiss Affirmative Defense.) Present—Callahan, J. P., Balio, Doerr, Boomer and Boehm, JJ.

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Order unanimously affirmed with costs. Memorandum: Supreme Court properly denied plaintiff’s motion to dismiss defendant’s second affirmative defense, premised on plaintiff’s failure to use a seat belt. Plaintiff contends that, as the operator of a tractor-trailer, he was not legally required to wear a seat belt (see, Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 151-a, 1229-c). "The fact that the law did not require plaintiff to wear his seat belt at the time of the accident is of no moment” (Gardner v Honda Motor Co., 145 AD2d 41, 47, lv dismissed 74 NY2d 715). A jury should be allowed to consider a plaintiff’s failure to wear an available seat belt in assessing damages (Spier v Barker, 35 NY2d 444, 450). (Appeal from Order of Supreme Court, Ontario County, Curran, J.—Dismiss Affirmative Defense.) Present—Callahan, J. P., Balio, Doerr, Boomer and Boehm, JJ.

Ruiz v. Rochester Telephone Co., 195 A.D.2d 981, 600 N.Y.S.2d 879, 1993 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7767 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1993).

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195 A.D.2d 981 (Ruiz v. Rochester Telephone Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Opinion

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