| Stewart v Prospect Transp. Inc. |
| 2025 NY Slip Op 03151 [238 AD3d 624] |
| May 22, 2025 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| Eddie Stewart, Appellant, et al.,
Plaintiff, v Prospect Transportation Inc. et al., Respondents. |
Law Offices of Brian Rayhill, Elmsford (Renaud T. Bleecker of counsel), for appellant.
Fixler & Lagattuta, LLP, New York (Luigi Tollis of counsel), for respondents.
Motions and Orders
- Premature Motion
- Personal Injury Action Arising from Motor Vehicle Accident
- Pre-Discovery Motion to Dismiss Counterclaim for Indemnification and Contribution
Properly Denied
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Ben R. Barbato, J.), entered September 11, 2024, which denied plaintiff Eddie Stewart's motion for summary judgment dismissing defendants' counterclaim for indemnification or contribution, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Defendants asserted a counterclaim for indemnification or contribution as against Stewart, the driver, should plaintiff Soribell Molina, allegedly a passenger in the vehicle, recover damages in this personal injury action. Supreme Court properly denied Stewart's motion for summary judgment dismissing that counterclaim because this pre-discovery motion was premature. Given the parties' conflicting accounts of the incident, defendants are entitled to discovery from Stewart and Molina concerning the circumstances surrounding the accident, including why Stewart stopped and whether Molina was in plaintiffs' car at the time of the accident (see CPLR 3212 [f]). Concur—Kern, J.P., González, Rodriguez, Pitt-Burke, Higgitt, JJ.