Court Reversed Summary Judgment on Defendant’s Liability, Finding the Passenger of a Leading Vehicle Failed to Establish Entitlement to Judgment as a Matter of Law on the Trailing Driver’s Negligence.

The plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle which collided with a vehicle operated by the defendant, who had accelerated at a high speed and crossed the double yellow line to pass the leading vehicle on the left while it was turning left. The plaintiff moved for summary judgment on the issue of liability and, in support of his motion, submitted deposition testimony of the parties. However, the account of the incident presented by the defendant differed from the account of the incident presented by the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s driver. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the defendant, the court found the plaintiff failed to demonstrate, prima facie, that the defendant was negligent in the incident.

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