This just goes to show the attention to detail that is necessary in order to prevail on summary judgment on a staged accident.
Nationwide Gen. Ins. Co. v Linwood Bates III, 2015 NY Slip Op 06122 (2d Dept. 2015)
(1) The plaintiff asserted that several defendants failed to attend their scheduled depositions, which was purportedly a breach of Bates’s insurance contract with the plaintiff. The plaintiff, however, failed to submit evidence from someone with personal knowledge of the mailings of the deposition requests
(2) ” In addition, the uncertified police accident reports submitted by the plaintiff were not admissible”
(3) “Further, the unsigned and unsworn deposition transcript of the defendant Miguel Ortiz was inadmissible”
(4) ” The plaintiff submitted an affidavit of its investigator, but the investigator relied, mostly, on inadmissible evidence, and lacked personal knowledge of the facts surrounding the three collisions.”
It just does not get worse than this. The Court pretty much stated that some people have no business filing staged accident DJ actions. I almost imagine that if counsel had immaculate papers, a different result would arise.
One Response
I WONDER WHAT ARGUMENTS WERE MADE ON APPEAL?
tHE BIGGEST THING THAT JUMPS OUT AT ME IS THAT ORTIZ’S TRANSCRIPTS WOULD BE ADMISSIBLE AS PARTY-ADMISSIONS (PRESUMABLY THE PLAINTIFF HAD THE GOOD SENSE TO NAME THE ASSIGNORS AS NECESSARY PARTIES IN THIS dj ACTION).
aDDITIONALLY, IF ORTIZ AND THE OTHER ASSIGNORS DEFAULTED, WOULDN’T THOSE DEFAULTS CONSTITUTE ADMISSIONS WHICH THE PROVIDERS WOULD THEN NEED TO REBUT ON A SJ MOTION (OR ALTERNATIVELY, COULDN’T IT JUST BE ARGUED THAT THE PROVIDERS ARE sol, SINCE AN ASSIGNEE CANNOT ENJOY GREATER RIGHTS THAN ITS ASSIGNOR)?
WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE RECORD ON APPEAL ON THIS ONE..