For Con Ed, it's light's out.

Plaintiff was injured in a collision between his van and a Con Ed truck. He testified at trial that he was driving down Ninth Avenue, stopped at a red light and, when the light turned green, began moving into the intersection when he was broadsided by defendant's truck. Defendant testified that, no, he had the green light, and that he couldn't remember having seen plaintiff's vehicle before impact. Plaintiff conceded that he had not looked to see whether there was traffic in the intersection as he moved forward. Jury found for plaintiff but the trial court granted defendant's motion to set aside the verdict and directed a new trial on both liability and damages. The First Department reversed, in Lopez v. Con Ed, which was decided on May 1, 2007. The court said that there had been eyewitness pedestrian testimony which was equivocal and which presented a pure question of fact, solely and properly within the jury's province. The court noted that "the finding of the jury may be disturbed only if it may be said that the preponderance of the evidence in this case was so great that the jury could not have reached the verdict it did on any fair interpretation of such evidence," and that wasn't this case. The court also determined that the jury's award of nearly one-half million dollars amounted to reasonable compensation for plaintiff's injuries.