CPLR 4404

Plaintiff allegedly was injured when she fell from her seat while riding on defendant's bus, and she claimed that her fall was caused by the bus operator's negligence. The jury found that the bus operator was not negligent, and the Second Department affirmed the denial of plaintiff's motion to set aside the verdict, in Martin v. New York City Transit, which was decided on February 13, 2008. The court noted that, to recover damages against a common carrier for injuries sustained as a result of the vehicle's movement, plaintiff is required to establish that there was a jerk or a lurch which was unusual and violent. Here, the court found that, since the alleged movement did not cause any other passenger to fall, the jury reasonably could have concluded that plaintiff's fall was not caused by any negligence on the part of the bus operator.

Practice point: Pursuant to CPLR 4404, the standard for determining whether a jury verdict is against the weight of the evidence is whether the evidence so preponderated in favor of movant that the verdict could not have been reached upon any fair interpretation of the evidence.