Justice Arlene Bluth
Defendants moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and cross-claims against them. Thompson sought to recover damages for personal injuries suffered after a collision between his scooter and the passenger side rear door of the taxi cab Futri Transportation owned, driven by Pazmino and opened by passenger Adwar. Thompson alleged violations of the Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL), but Adwar argued there were triable issues of fact if such violations existed, and if Pazmino violated taxi cab rules for dropping off a passenger in a safe location. The court found the cab was in the right lane, parallel to, and two feet away from a row of parked cars. It stated Thompson violated VTL §1252 by passing the cab in the same lane the cab occupied, and operating the scooter between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles, noting neither Futri, nor Pazmino violated the VTL as Pazmino was allowed to discharge his passenger alongside a vehicle parked at the curb. The court noted Thompson did not deny he was squeezing through the space between the cab and the parked cars, noting Adwar did not open the door in the lane available to traffic. It ruled there was nothing to show defendants breached any duty to Thompson or were the proximate cause of the accident, granting them dismissal.