Holding Court: Decriminalization of Sins, Liabilities Around Your Car
Holding Court is a series by retired Rye City Court Judge Joe Latwin. Latwin retired from the court in December 2022 after thirteen years of service to the City.
What topics do you want addressed by Judge Latwin? Tell us.
By Joe Latwin
Things to be aware
It seems that the Legislature is intent on removing sin from the law. Just last week, the Legislature decriminalized adultery by repealing the law making it a crime. While you may be safe from the police, you may still be at risk from an angry spouse.
This is the latest legalization of sin. In the recent past, marijuana has been decriminalized and certain gambling is permitted. The last two years have seen bills introduced to legalize prostitution. At this rate, the Legislature may be putting the mob out of business. Soon, the only lines of business to be left to the mob may be murder and extortion. Fredo is probably rolling over in his watery grave.
I wasn’t there and had nothing to do with it may not be a defense to avoid liability for a car accident. In a recent case, the car owner brought his vehicle to a car repair shop. While the car was in the custody and control of the repair an employee of the car repair shop was using or operating the owner’s vehicle. Plaintiff claimed that he was on an electric scooter in the bicycle lane when the employee opened the driver side door of the owner’s parked vehicle into plaintiff s lane of travel, striking plaintiff and causing him injuries. The owner wasn’t there. He didn’t do anything to cause the accident. He was merely a passive owner. The repair shop was in exclusive control of the car. Nevertheless, the owner was sued by the plaintiff.
Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388 attributes negligence in use or operation of vehicle attributable to the owner. It says,
- Every owner of a vehicle used or operated in this state shall be liable and responsible for death or injuries to person or property resulting from negligence in the use or operation of such vehicle, in the business of such owner or otherwise, by any person using or operating the same with the permission, express or implied, of such owner. Whenever any vehicles as hereinafter defined shall be used in combination with one another, by attachment or tow, the person using or operating any one vehicle shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be using or operating each vehicle in the combination, and the owners thereof shall be jointly and severally liable hereunder.
Thus, the owner was jointly and severally liable for the damages. Assuming the car repair employee was uninsured and relatively poor, the owner may be on the hook for the entire damages. Hopefully, the owner has adequate insurance coverage.
Do you have a cover on your car’s license plates? You can get a ticket for that!
Vehicle and Traffic Law 402(b) says
(i) Number plates shall be kept clean and in a condition so as to be easily readable.
(ii) Number plates shall not be knowingly covered or coated with any material or substance that conceals or obscures such number plates or that distorts a recorded or photographic image of such number plates.
(ii-a) Number plates shall not be covered by glass or any plastic material, nor shall they be covered with a material appearing to be a number plate for display as proof of lawful registration but which has not been lawfully issued by the commissioner, the commissioner’s agent, or the equivalent official or agents from another state, territory, district, province, nation or other jurisdiction. James Bond’s Aston Martin with rotating plates would be illegal in New York!
The purpose of this law to allow police to use radar to compute the car’s speed. The license plate is a flat surface that can properly reflect radar beams. Accordingly, the police are taught to aim for the license plate. In addition, obscuring the license plate limits the ability of license plate readers that photograph cars passing red lights speeding, or evading tolls.
Now you know!
