Neither third-party defendant nor plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment here, where each failed in meeting the burden to establish the absence of material issues of fact (see, Gibson v American Export Isbrandtsen Lines, 125 A.D.2d 65, 74; Winegrad v New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 N.Y.2d 851, 853). The record indicates that material issues of fact exist, such as whether the third-party defendant was responsible in any way for causing the collision or collisions, and precisely how and by whom the injuries to plaintiff's insured were caused and in what proportions, if determinable. Moreover, it was error to determine issues, on the motion and cross-motion, instead of merely identifying them (see, Sillman v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., 3 N.Y.2d 395, 404).
Concur — Carro, J.P., Wallach, Kupferman, Ross and Williams, JJ.