In Balanta v. Stanlaine Taxi Corp., 307 A.D.2d 1017 (2d Dep't 2003) a vehicle owned by defendant Stanlaine Taxi Corp. ("Stanlaine") and driven by defendant Ranjit Singh ("Singh") crashed into a vehicle driven by plaintiff. Plaintiff driver and her passenger brought suit against defendants. Stanlaine asserted a counterclaim against plaintiff driver. Singh defaulted, and a default judgment was granted against him. Plaintiffs moved for summary judgment against Stanlaine, arguing that because default judgment was granted against the driver, summary judgment was also warranted against the vehicle's owner based on Vehicle and Traffic Law 388 (1). The Second Department held that summary judgment as to Stanlaine must be denied, because Stanlaine should not be precluded from contesting Singh's negligence, as well as to whether plaintiff driver's own negligence contributed to the plaintiffs' injuries.