General Contractor Found Not Responsible for Injury to Subcontractor Employee
Defendant Louis Gargiulo Co., Inc. (“Gargiulo”) was hired as a general contractor to perform work at the Hudson County Schools of Technology. Defendant hired Adamo Brothers Construction (“Adamo”) to perform a portion of the work. Plaintiff, an Adamo employee, suffered an injury while operating a jackhammer on the job site. The issue in Sutuj v. […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Orders Virtual Jury Trials to Proceed
After receiving numerous public comments, on January 7, 2021, the New Jersey Supreme Court has ordered that virtual jury trials are to proceed, starting on February 1, 2021. They will be implemented in a two phase approach in a limited number of vicinages on a voluntary basis starting February 1, 2021 and on a mandatory […]
Trial Court Committed Error In Permitting Plaintiff’s Alcohol Consumption Admitted Into Evidence In A Fall Down Case
Plaintiff Elizabeth Harrington was having dinner at the defendant Fire & Oak restaurant in an elevated booth. She had consumed two glasses of wine. When she stepped down to exit the booth, she fell and fractured her hip. The issue in Harrington v. South City Prime Montvale, LLC, 2020 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2417 (App. […]
Plaintiff’s Claim for UIM Coverage Denied Based upon Regular Use Exclusion in Insurance Policy
Plaintiff Edward Siemietkoski sought underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits from Geico Insurance Company (Geico) due to injuries suffered in an automobile accident with defendant Charlie Velasquez-Flores. Geico denied Plaintiff’s claim based on the “regular use” exclusion contained in his insurance policy. This exclusion restricts coverage “where an insured has sustained bodily injury while occupying a vehicle […]
Hotel Found to Have No Liability for Painting Contractor Injured Due to Fall Off Ladder
Plaintiff Andres Prieto (as part of a team of contractors) was hired by the Defendant EH Associates, LLC d/b/a Fairbridge Inn & Suites to place sheetrock over skylights in the hotel’s ballroom and paint the ballroom’s walls. In the course of performing these services, he fell off his ladder and suffered injuries. The issue in […]
Jury Trials Again Suspended in New Jersey
Not surprisingly, due to the COVID-19 surge of cases, the New Jersey Supreme Court has once again suspended jury trials. They had resumed earlier in the fall on a limited basis as a hybrid with virtual jury selection and socially distanced trials. However, with this second wave of new COVID-19 cases, the Court deemed it […]
Lost Profits Claim Barred Under New Business Rule
In the legal malpractice case, Schwartz v. Menas, 2020 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2104 (App. Div. Nov. 6, 2020), the Appellate Division was faced with an appeal over whether the trial court properly barred plaintiffs’ expert reports supporting claims for lost profits as too speculative under the “new business rule.” Plaintiff Larry Schwartz and his […]
No Coverage for Personal Injury Under Loading and Unloading Coverage in Auto Policy When Accident had no Substantial Nexus with Use of Truck
Craig Crumley, an employee of Thomas Lindstrom Steel & Company (“Lindstrom”), a subcontractor of Plaintiff D’Andrea Construction Company (“D’Angelo”), was injured on a job site while assisting in the retrieval of two old welding machines in helping other employees in the loading and unloading of the new welders. The issue in D’Andrea Construction Co. v. […]
Residential Owner of Three Family Apartment Building Found Not to be Liable for Fall on Adjoining Public Sidewalk
Plaintiff Gerard Rienzi, while an inspector for Union City, fell on the public sidewalk in front of the three family apartment building owned by defendant Vincent Giacoman. Plaintiff claimed to have suffered injuries when he fell in a hole in the sidewalk adjacent to Giacoman’s building. The issue in Rienzi v. Giacoman, 2020 N.J. Super. […]
Plaintiff’s Expert Report Barred Due to Failure to Distinguish Permanent Injury Suffered in Two Consecutive Car Accidents
Plaintiff Abigail Perdomo appealed the trial court’s decision barring the expert report of her treating physician, Dr. Wayne Petermann, a chiropractor, as a net opinion. Plaintiff had been in two different motor vehicle accidents in December, 2010 and, three years later, in November, 2013. The issue in Perdomo v. Orgacki, 2018 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS […]
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