Appeal from a judgment of the City Court of Yonkers, Westchester County (Mary Anne Scattaretico-Naber, J.), entered June 7, 2010. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, dismissed the action.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, without costs.

In this small claims action, plaintiff seeks to recover for property damage sustained to her vehicle in a traffic accident. It was undisputed that plaintiff's vehicle was lawfully stopped at a red light and that defendant's vehicle was lawfully stopped directly behind plaintiff's, when a third vehicle failed to stop and drove into the rear of defendant's vehicle with sufficient force to propel defendant's vehicle into the rear end of plaintiff's vehicle, causing damage to plaintiff's vehicle. The third vehicle then fled from the scene of the accident, and was not identified. Following a nonjury trial, the City Court found in favor of defendant dismissing the action.

Since defendant established that there was a reason for the rear-end collision with plaintiff's vehicle that was unrelated to any negligence by defendant, and since plaintiff failed to demonstrate any negligence on defendant's part (see Lewis v Kittay, 306 AD2d 386 [2003]; Smith v Cafiero, 203 AD2d 355 [1994]), we conclude that the judgment dismissing the action rendered substantial justice between the parties according to the rules and principles of substantive law (UCCA 1804, 1807). Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.

Nicolai, P.J., LaCava and Iannacci, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: June 30, 2011