This week we won 2 motions in separate Courts where Summary Judgement was granted to cyclists "doored" in New York. Summary Judgement is where the Court (a judge) finds in favor of a party before the case is even presented to a jury. In these cases the Court found that the Defendant's were negligent as a matter of law and that the only issue for a jury would be the amount of damages the cyclist are entitled to.
In the first case, our client was cycling on 11th Ave when he was "doored" by an exiting taxi driver who was parked along the curb. The Court found the driver violated VTL 1214 when he unlawfully opened his door into the path of the cyclist.
In the second case, the Court found that the passenger in a cab violated VTL 1214 when the opened the passenger door into a bike lane in lower Manhattan. Under NY law, the owner of the cab is responsible for the acts of the exiting passenger. The Court also found the driver negligent by unlawfully stopping in a bike lane in violation of the NYC administrative code that prohibits stopping or standing in a bike lane.
With liability now being established, both these matters are now damages only trials to be held in the Supreme Court.