A cyclist who was awarded a $36 million verdict in a personal injury suit against New York City and the speeding motorist who hit him in 2004, leaving him permanently brain damaged, must accept a smaller verdict or face a new trial, an appellate court has ruled.

But the Appellate Division, Second Department, panel in Turturro v. City of New York, 37657/05, Wednesday also rejected the city's arguments that it did not have a special duty to Anthony Turturro, who was 12 at the time, that it was immune from liability and that the accident was solely the fault of the motorist.

On the evening of Dec. 5, 2004, Turturro was riding his bike on Gerritsen Avenue in south Brooklyn when he was struck by a Honda driven by Louis Pascarella that was traveling 54 miles per hour in a 30-miles-per-hour speed zone.