Rooney v. Myers

Levine, J. (dissenting).

I respectfully dissent. The statutory presumption of express or implied permission (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 388) is a strong one and, even when rebutted by substantial uncontradicted evidence, ordinarily this only creates an issue of fact for the jury (May v Heiney, 12 NY2d 683; Leotta v Plessinger, 8 NY2d 449; Piwowarski v Cornwell, 273 NY 226, 229; Ryder v Cue Car Rental, 32 AD2d 143, 147; Reyes v Sternberg, 27 AD2d 828; Cosimo v Hollenbeck, 19 AD2d 921). At the very least, since the presumption shifts the risk of nonpersuasion to the defendant owner, issues of…