PHIFER v. STATE

Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.

The claimant failed to refute evidence provided by deposition testimony and police reports that the claimant's decedent, while intoxicated, stole a State-owned vehicle from the grounds of the Kings Park Psychiatric Center. The decedent crashed the vehicle into a tree shortly thereafter, and sustained fatal injuries.

We find that the court properly dismissed the claim based upon common-law negligence against the defendants, since the owner of a stolen vehicle is not liable, as a matter of law, for the negligence of a thief (see, Epstein v. Mediterranean Motors, 109 A.D.2d 340, affd 66 N.Y.2d 1018; see also, Koenig v. Price, 200 A.D.2d 559; Howard v. Kiskiel, 152 A.D.2d 950; Mocciaro v Lopergolo, 125 A.D.2d 974).

Moreover, the court properly dismissed the claim based on a violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1210 (a) since the decedent was not within the class of persons the statute was designed to protect (see, Mocciaro v. Lopergolo, supra; Rushink v Gerstheimer, 82 A.D.2d 944). Public policy "generally denies judicial relief to those injured in the course of committing a serious criminal act" (Barker v. Kallash, 63 N.Y.2d 19, 24; see also, Tillmon v. New York City Hous. Auth., 203 A.D.2d 19; La Page v. Smith, 166 A.D.2d 831).

Under the circumstances, the claimant's request for further discovery was properly denied. Mangano, P.J., Thompson, O'Brien and Florio, JJ., concur.