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FILED: KINGS COUNTY CLERK 11/01/2023 07:48 PM INDEX NO. 508586/2021
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 36 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/01/2023
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF KINGS
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MICHELLE CLARKE,
Index No.: 508586/2021
Plaintiff, COUNTER STATEMENT OF
MATERIAL FACTS
-against- Return Date:
November 8, 2023
SYDNEY DAVID and BRUCE BENVENUTI,
Defendants.
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Plaintiff MICHELLE CLARKE (hereinafter, “Plaintiff”), by and through her attorneys,
IKHILOV & ASSOCIATES, pursuant to Section 202.8-g of the Rules of the Supreme Court of
the State of New York, sets forth the following Statement of Material Facts of in support of her
affirmation in opposition to defendants SYDNEY DAVID and BRUCE BENVENUTI’s
(hereinafter “Defendants”) motion for summary judgment on the grounds that Plaintiff did not
sustain a serious injury as defined by Insurance Law §5102(d).
Response to Defendants’ Statement of Materials Facts
1. Admit.
2. Admit.
3. Admit.
4. Admit.
5. Admit.
6. Deny. Plaintiff immediately visited for medical treatment to the emergency room
of the Jamica Hospital on the date of the accident. See pg. 49, ln. 15-19 of the EBT transcript of
Plaintiff annexed hereto as Exhibit “A” and a copy of Plaintiff’s ER records annexed hereto as
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Exhibit “B”. Plaintiff was under self-care by applying hot packs and taking ibuprofen until
initiating therapy for the first time six (6) days following the date of the accident. See pg. 52, ln.
17 and pg. 53, ln. 6 of Exhibit “A” and a copy of the medical record showing the initial visit
annexed hereto as Plaintiff’s Exhibit “C”.
7. Admit to the extent that Plaintiff was recommended for surgeries to her right knee
and to her lower back but declined because she “couldn’t afford to be not working.” See pg. 65,
ln. 16-18 and pg. 66, ln. 3-4 of Exhibit “A”.
8. Deny as to allegation to interpretation of “musculoskeletal system”; Deny
knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the rest of the averment.
9. Deny knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the
averment.
10. Deny knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the
averment.
11. Deny knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the
averment.
12. Deny knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the
averment.
13. Deny knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the
averment.
14. Deny knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the
averment.
15. Deny knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the
averment.
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16. Admit. When Plaintiff periodically called out sick, the frequency was from two to
three days per week. See pg. 74, ln. 25 and pg. 75, ln. 2 of Exhibit “A”.
17. Admit to the extent that “doing housework” involves cleaning, laundry, food
shopping, and changing up her house and that she requires her daughter’s help with all of the
foregoing. See pg. 83, ln. 13-18 and pg. 84, ln. 4-9 of Exhibit “A”.
18. Deny knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the
averment.
Plaintiff’s Statement of Materials Facts
19. The subject motor vehicle accident occurred on January 15, 2020 on South Conduit
Avenue, at or near its intersection with 149th Avenue, in the County of Queens, State of New York,
where the vehicle operated by Plaintiff collided with the vehicle operated by Defendant SYDNEY
DAVID.
20. At the time of the collision, Plaintiff felt “a heavy impact” to the rear portion of her
vehicle. See pg. 30, ln. 3 and 19 of Exhibit “A”.
21. As a result of the “heavy impact”, Plaintiff’s vehicle moved “far left” onto a “grassy
area” to the left of the left lane. See pg. 30, ln. 20-25 and pg. 31, ln. 2-8 of Exhibit “A”.
22. As a result of the impact, Plaintiff’s body moved and made contact with the interior
portion of the car. See pg. 33, ln. 23-25 and pg. 34, ln. 2 of Exhibit “A”.
23. As a result of the impact, Plaintiff’s chest struck the steering wheel, Plaintiff’s head
struck the dashboard, Plaintiff’s head subsequently struck the backrest, and Plaintiff’s right knee
struck the bottom side panel. See pg. 34, ln. 3-17 of Exhibit “A”.
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24. At the scene of the accident, Plaintiff complained pain to her neck, back, and right
knee to the EMTs who gave a neck brace to Plaintiff, put her on a stretcher, and took her to the
hospital. See pg. 42, ln. 14-24 of Exhibit “A”.
25. Plaintiff was taken to the Jamaica Hospital emergency room from the scene of the
accident, where she complained pain to her neck, back, and right knee and received medical
treatment, including pain medication, a neck brace, x-rays, and a CT scan. See pg. 49, ln. 15-24,
pg. 50, ln. 6-7, and pg. 51, ln. 12 of Exhibit “A”.
26. Following the date of the accident, Plaintiff was subject to self-care due to pain,
applying hot packs and taking ibuprofen until initiating therapy for the first time six (6) days
following the date of the accident. See pg. 52, ln. 17 and pg. 53, ln. 6 of Exhibit “A” and Exhibit
“C”.
27. As a result of the subject accident, Plaintiff missed two weeks of work and,
additionally, periodically called out sick at the frequency of two to three days per week. See pg.
73, ln. 13, pg. 74, ln. 25, and pg. 75, ln. 2 of Exhibit “A”.
28. Plaintiff went for therapy treatment, involving chiropractic treatment, physical
therapy, and acupuncture, approximately three times per week for almost nine months. See pg. 60,
ln. 21, pg. 61, ln. 6-7 of Exhibit “A”.
29. Plaintiff was recommended for surgeries to her right knee and to her lower back
but declined because she “couldn’t afford to be not working.” See pg. 65, ln. 16-18 and pg. 66, ln.
3-4 of Exhibit “A”.
30. Plaintiff received epidural injection two times to her lower back. See pg. 69, ln. 20-
25 and pg. 70, ln. 2 of Exhibit “A”.
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31. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff is no longer able to go hiking she was able to
do and enjoy prior to the date of the accident. See pg. 77, ln. 8-10 of Exhibit “A”.
32. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff is no longer able to go kayaking she was able
to do and enjoy prior to the date of the accident. See pg. 80, ln. 3-9 of Exhibit “A”.
33. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff is no longer able to go horseback riding she
was able to do and enjoy prior to the date of the accident. See pg. 81, ln. 3-9 of Exhibit “A”.
34. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff is limited in walking, where she used to walk
three times per week for 2 hours per walk and now can only walk once per week for 35 to 45
minutes. See pg. 77, ln. 3-4, pg. 78, ln. 9, 21-22, and pg. 80, ln. 15-17 of Exhibit “A”.
35. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff can only do “minimum” walking for exercise.
See pg. 80, ln. 13 of Exhibit “A”.
36. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff is limited in standing and cooking, because she
could not normally maneuver herself in the kitchen or move big pots such that she could no longer
cook for her family on holidays. See pg. 82, ln. 5-24 and pg. 84, ln. 2 of Exhibit “A”.
37. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff is limited in cleaning, laundry, food shopping,
and changing up her house, requiring her daughter’s help with all of the foregoing. See pg. 83, ln.
13-18, pg. 84, ln. 4-9 of Exhibit “A”.
38. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff is experiencing intimacy problem with her
boyfriend. See pg. 85, ln. 10 of Exhibit “A”.
39. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff experienced three fingers in her right hand
being numb. See pg. 86, ln. 25 of Exhibit “A”.
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40. The MRI taken February 6, 2020 to Plaintiff’s right knee revealed intermeniscal
tear in the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus and complex tear in the posterior body and posterior
horn of the medial meniscus. A copy of the MRI reports is annexed hereto as Exhibit “D”.
41. The MRI taken February 26, 2020 to Plaintiff’s cervical spine revealed C4-C5 disc
bulge with compression of the anterior thecal sac and partial effacement of anterior subarachnoid
space, C5-C6 broad-based disc herniation with compression of the thecal sac, partial effacement
of ventral subarachnoid space and impingement of neural foramen and bilateral exiting nerve roots,
and C6-C7 broad-based central disc herniation with compression of the thecal sac, partial
effacement of ventral subarachnoid space and impingement of neural foramen and bilateral exiting
nerve roots. See Exhibit “D”.
42. The MRI taken February 26, 2020 to Plaintiff’s thoracic revealed T2-T6 diffuse
disc herniations with compression of the anterior thecal sac and effacement of anterior
subarachnoid space and abutment of anterior thoracic spinal cord and encroachment of neural
foramina. See Exhibit “D”.
43. The MRI taken May 19, 2020 to Plaintiff’s lumbar spine revealed L3-L4 disc
herniation with compression of the ventral thecal sac and impingement of the lateral recesses,
neural foramen, and bilateral exiting nerve roots and L4-L5 disc bulge with compression of the
anterior thecal sac and impingement of bilateral neural foramen and exiting nerve roots. See
Exhibit “D”.
44. According to the range of motion test performed by Dr. Ashraf Salem on February
12, 2020, Plaintiff lost 70% of her cervical flexion, 93% of her cervical extension, 78% of her
cervical lateral left, 76% of the cervical lateral right, 86% of the cervical rotation left, and 67% of
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the cervical rotation right. A copy of the report for the range of motion test performed on February
12, 2020 is annexed hereto as Exhibit “E”.
45. According to the range of motion test performed by Dr. Ashraf Salem on February
12, 2020, Plaintiff lost 71% of her thoracic flexion, 82% of her thoracic lateral left, 76% of her
thoracic lateral right. See Plaintiff’s Exhibit “E”.
46. According to the range of motion test performed by Dr. Ashraf Salem on February
12, 2020, Plaintiff lost 57% of her lumbar flexion, 68% of her lumbar extension, 32% of her lumbar
lateral left, 48% of her lumbar lateral right. See Plaintiff’s Exhibit “E”.
47. According to the range of motion test performed by Dr. Ashraf Salem on February
12, 2020, Plaintiff lost 57% of her right knee flexion. See Plaintiff’s Exhibit “E”.
48. According to the range of motion test performed by Dr. Ashraf Salem on October
27, 2023, Plaintiff lost 4% of her cervical flexion, 4% of her cervical extension, 2% of her cervical
lateral left, 2% of the cervical lateral right, 2% of the cervical rotation left, and 2% of the cervical
rotation right. A copy of the report for the range of motion test performed on October 27, 2023 is
annexed hereto as Exhibit “F”.
49. According to the range of motion test performed by Dr. Ashraf Salem on October
27, 2023, Plaintiff lost 5% of her lumbar flexion, 3% of her lumbar extension, 2% of her lumbar
lateral left, 2% of her lumbar lateral right. See Plaintiff’s Exhibit “F”.
50. According to the range of motion test performed by Dr. Ashraf Salem on October
27, 2023, Plaintiff lost 10% of her right knee flexion. See Plaintiff’s Exhibit “F”.
51. According to the range of motion test performed by Dr. Ashraf Salem on October
27, 2023, the Final Whole Person Impairment was 29%. See Plaintiff’s Exhibit “F”.
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WHEREFORE, it is respectfully requested that SYDNEY DAVID and BRUCE
BENVENUTI’s motion for summary judgment be denied in its entirety, together with such other
and further relief as this Court may deem just and proper.
Dated: Brooklyn, New York
November 1, 2023
Yours, etc.
IKHILOV & ASSOCIATES
/s/ Daniel Park
By: Daniel Park, Esq.
Attorneys for Plaintiff
MICHELLE CLARKE
. 76 W. Brighton Avenue, Suite 212
Brooklyn, New York 11224
(718) 336-4999
TO: JAMES F. BUTLER & ASSOCIATES
Attorneys for Defendants
SYDNEY DAVID and BRUCE BENVENUTI
P. O. Box 9040
300 Jericho Quadrangle, Suite 260
Jericho, New York 11753
(516) 229-6000
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