In Galasso v. Wegmans Food Mkts., Inc. , Laurie Galasso was trying to hang a construction sign on the side of the road when a Wegmans Food Markets tractor-trailer was travelling by, at some 10 to 15 miles per hour over the speed limit, and generated a gust of wind which caused the sign to fall on her.
After the Erie County Supreme Court denied Wegmans ' request to dismiss the case, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, agreed and rejected the company's arguments that it didn't owe a duty to Galasso and that the risk of injury wasn't foreseeable.
In a dissenting opinion, Justices Smith and Peradotto believed the case should have been knocked out.
While a tractor-trailer must be safely operated, the dissenters didn't believed there is a duty owed to "an off-road pedestrian to avoid the effect of the wind turbulence created by ... [a] vehicle as it travels down the road." (The dissenters noted that even if the driver had been traveling within the speed limit, the sign still could have fallen.)
Will the Court of Appeals let the air out of them tires?
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Galasso v. Wegmans Food Mkts., Inc.