Spoliation and Evidence

• October 21, 2026 Second Department

  Intersection Crash Gets a New Trial: A Driver With the Right of Way Must Still Use Reasonable Care, and Photos of the Vehicle Damage Should Have Been Admitted (Pruessen v Richard Capobianco, Inc., 2d Dept 2026)

  A driver with the right of way may assume that others will yield, but still must use reasonable care to avoid hitting a vehicle that is already in the intersection. Here, the Second Department reinstated a driver’s case that had been dismissed at the close of her evidence at trial, and held that photographs of the damage to both vehicles should have been admitted at the trial on fault.

  Vehicle and TrafficSpoliation and Evidence

• October 7, 2026 Second Department

  Bus Video Defeats a Passenger’s Claim Against NYC Transit Despite the Other Driver’s Sworn Account (Hyejun Cho v NYCTA, 2d Dept 2026)

  When clear video shows how a crash happened, a court may decide fault without a trial, even if a driver swears to a different version. Here, the Second Department affirmed the dismissal of a car passenger’s claims against the New York City Transit Authority and its bus driver, because the bus video conclusively established that the driver of the car she was riding in was the sole proximate cause of the crash.

  Vehicle and TrafficSummary JudgmentSpoliation and Evidence

• October 6, 2026 First Department

  E-Bike Rider’s Claim Against NYC Transit: An Early Summary Judgment Motion Was Not Premature, but Unclear Video Was Not Enough (Komlan v Belisle, 1st Dept 2026)

  The fact that depositions have not occurred in a motor vehicle accident case does not necessarily preclude the court from granting summary judgment, but the proof must still show the defendants’ negligence clearly. Here, the First Department held that an e-bike rider’s motion against the New York City Transit Authority was not premature, but because the surveillance video did not clearly depict the accident, it affirmed the trial court’s denial of the motion.

  Summary JudgmentVehicle and TrafficSpoliation and Evidence

• September 30, 2026 Second Department

  Slip-and-Fall Video Overwritten After a Preservation Letter: Adverse Inference Charge Ordered (Fernandez v Port Auth. of N.Y. & N.J., 2d Dept 2026)

  Where there is a question of fact as to the time a preservation letter is received and the time when the video is destroyed, the jury is to determine whether “spoliation of evidence” occurred. Here, in a slip-and-fall case against an airline, the Second Department held that “[t]he appropriate sanction” for any spoliation “would be an adverse inference charge” against the airline.

  Spoliation and EvidencePremises

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Decision Day summarizes and comments on published court decisions. It is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts. Unless an entry says otherwise, The Eskesen Law Firm did not represent any party in these cases.