Appeal by plaintiff Maria Gutierrez from an order of the Civil Court, Queens County (J. Golia, J.), entered on January 17, 2002, which, inter alia, denied her motion to dismiss defendant's counterclaim.

Order unanimously reversed without costs and plaintiff Gutierrez's motion for summary judgment dismissing the counterclaim granted.

In this negligence action, plaintiff Gutierrez moved for summary judgment dismissing the counterclaim interposed against her. plaintiffs testified at their examination before trial that Gutierrez was driving a vehicle in which plaintiff Diaz was a passenger when it was struck in the rear, while stopped for a red light, by defendant Boruta's vehicle. A rear-end collision with a stopped vehicle establishes a prima facie case of negligence on the part of the operator of the moving vehicle and imposes a duty on the operator of the moving vehicle to explain how the accident happened (Sekuler v Limnos Taxi, 264 AD2d 389). Inasmuch as Boruta submitted no opposition to the motion, it should have been granted.

In light of the foregoing, we need not reach the issue, raised by Gutierrez upon her [*3]motion, of whether plaintiff Maria Diaz satisfied the threshold requirement of suffering a serious injury under the No-Fault Law since Gutierrez bears no liability for the accident.
Decision Date: October 21, 2003