Fullerton Beck Settles Case After Court Rejects Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment

Fullerton Beck attorney Deborah Conquest recently settled a motor vehicle accident case on behalf of the ambulance company after the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgement was denied by the court for inadmissible evidence. The plaintiff, who reportedly underwent multiple surgeries, had initially demanded the full limits of a $1 million policy.

The case stemmed from a two-vehicle accident in a Yonkers parking lot involving a sedan and an ambulance owned by a local ambulance company. According to testimony, the ambulance was backing out of a parking space when it struck the plaintiff’s vehicle as it attempted to pass the ambulance. The ambulance driver testified that he did not see the sedan before impact, which plaintiff argued confirms defendant’s failure to observe the plaintiff’s vehicle.

Deborah uncovered that the evidence filed by the plaintiff was inadmissible as it was based on an attorney’s affirmation without personal knowledge of the facts; an uncertified MV-104 police accident reports that were not signed by the plaintiff and an unsigned, unnotarized deposition transcript – all inadmissible evidence that should not be considered by the court on a dismissal motion. The court agreed and denied the plaintiff’s motion, causing the matter to proceed to mediation, where the parties reached a reasonable settlement.

The trajectory of this case shows that some matters do not need to be decided solely on their facts, since process and procedure can be just as significant. If the liability portion had been resolved through summary judgment, the defense would have faced a 9% interest added to the judgment until the damages phase concluded. Avoiding that outcome became an additional success for our client.