BARRERA v. SKAGGS-WALSH, INC. INS. CO

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs to the plaintiff-respondent in Action No. 3.

As a general rule, questions of liability and damages in a negligence action represent distinct and severable issues which should be tried separately (see, CPLR 603; Rothbard v. F.W. Woolworth Co., 233 A.D.2d 434). A party opposing bifurcation and seeking a unified trial on those issues must show that the nature of the injuries has "an important bearing" on the issue of liability (Martinez v. Town of Babylon, 191 A.D.2d 483).

The appellant Skaggs-Walsh, Inc., serviced an oil burner which caused a fire resulting in damages to tenants and owners of adjacent buildings. It did not demonstrate that evidence of those damages is necessary to establish its lack of negligence in the maintenance of the oil burner. Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly denied its motion for a unified trial (see, Armstrong v. Adelman Automotive Parts Distrib. Corp., 176 A.D.2d 773).