Costanza v. City of New York

OPINION OF THE COURT

John A. Milano, J.

The following question, unanswered in reported cases to date, is now presented to this court. Does a defendant comply with the provisions of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1229-c, i.e., the "seat-belt defense”, by pleading in its answer the defense of culpable conduct? For the reasons explained below the court answers this question in the negative.

Before proceeding to the reasons behind this decision, a brief factual history is in order.

This is a negligence action in which plaintiff, a New York City policeman, was injured while on duty riding as a passenger in…