In Lynch v. Dobler Chevrolet , Brenda Lynch was injured in a car accident involving James Schnitzer.
After a negligence suit was filed, Schnitzer asked the Queens County Supreme Court to dismiss the case since Lynch had violated the State's Vehicle and Traffic Law when she made a left turn directly into the path of Schnitzer's vehicle.
Schnitzer testified that he was traveling no faster than 40 m.p.h., while a nonparty eyewitness claimed that Schnitzer was driving at least 85 m.p.h. immediately prior to the collision. Despite this conflicting evidence, the Supreme Court granted Schnitzer's request to end the dispute and an appeal to the Appellate Division, Second Department, ensued.
Since a lay witness is "ordinarily permitted to testify as to the estimated speed of an automobile based upon the prevalence of automobiles in our society and the frequency with which people view them at various speeds," the AD2 concluded that Schnitzer's rate of speed was an issue which should have been left for a formal hearing or trial.
Now that the case is reinstated, is Schnitzer going get Lynched?
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Lynch v. Dobler Chevrolet