Belmer v. HHM Associates, Inc.

Plaintiff was injured when the tire of a bus she was driving rolled into a large hole in a roadway. Defendant HHM Associates, Inc. had contracted with nonparty City of New York to replace sewer mains along a stretch of roadway that included the site of the accident. HHM’s project entailed excavating and restoring the roadway. According to the City’s consulting engineer, the roadway had been restored with temporary asphalt when the accident occurred. Plaintiffs theory at trial was that HHM left the hole in the roadway while performing its work. At the charge conference, HHM requested a charge…