Holt v. Nesbit

Special Term properly ruled that the negligence of the driver of plaintiff’s vehicle shall not bar plaintiff’s recovery, but erred in holding that the driver’s negligence “may to the extent proved at trial be asserted in diminution of the plaintiff Holt’s award of damages.”

The general rule is that a driver’s negligence should not be imputed to an absentee owner so as to bar or diminish the owner’s recovery for property damage (see, Kalechman v Drew Auto Rental, 33 NY2d 397; Continental Auto Lease Corp. v Campbell, 19 NY2d 350). The defendants’ contention, apparently adopted by Special Term,…