Kinney rented a car that had a defective trunk. He and a
friend were standing on the street, trying to get the parked car's trunk
shut when someone named Maldonado crashed his car into Ventricelli.
Ventricelli sued Kinney for negligence.
The Trial Court found for Ventricelli and awarded him
$550k. Kinney appealed.
The Appellate Court reversed and dismissed the case.
Ventricelli appealed.
The New York Supreme Court affirmed the Appellate Court
and dismissed the case.
The New York Supreme Court found that, while Kinney's negligence
was a cause of the accident, it was not the proximate cause.
The Court felt that it was foreseeable that Ventricelli
would have to spend time getting the trunk closed, it was not foreseeable
that this would expose him to getting hit by a car.
Ventricelli could have theoretically been standing
behind the car for a number of reasons.
In a dissent it was argued that Kinney's negligence
increased the time that Ventricelli would have to spend exposed to
possibly getting hit by a car, and therefore Kinney increased the
probability of Ventricelli getting injured.
Getting hit by a car isn't normally a consequence of closing
a trunk. However, getting your hand caught in the truck is. If Kinney's negligence
resulted in Ventricelli slamming his hand in the trunk, they would
probably be held liable for that injury.
