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Civil Reservation for Guilty Plea of Traffic Violation in Municipal Court Must be Asserted at Time of Plea
Our court rules permit a municipal court judge to accept a guilty plea of a traffic offense with a “civil reservation.” If the judge accepts this form of plea, that guilty plea cannot be introduced into evidence in any related civil proceeding. In other words, if a personal injury lawsuit is filed in the future, […]
Landlord Found Not Liable for Tenant Injury Due to Fall on Wet Grass
Plaintiff Carolyn Arroyave sued her landlord, defendant Quaker Village Apartments due to a fall on a pathway on a grassy hill. In Arroyave v. Quaker Village Apartments, 2015 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 276 (App. Div 2015), the plaintiff contended that her landlord breached its duty of care owed to her by failing to warn of […]
NJ Supreme Court Rules that Expert’s Report Properly Barred as Net Opinion Because Contradicted by Facts in Record
In Townsend v. Pierre, decided March 12, 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court addressed the net opinion rule in the context of an automobile accident negligence case. This case involved a tragic accident in which Alvin Townsend, a motorcyclist, was killed. He was travelling on Levitt Parkway and reached the intersection of Garfield Drive and […]
Superior Court Judge Rejects Dever Case and Holds Walmart Not Barred from The Recovery Of Its Workers’ Comp Lien
This week’s article is feature-written by my workers’ compensation department partner John H. Geaney, Esq. Desirae Cintron was injured in a motor vehicle accident on September 20, 2011 while walking in the parking lot of a Walmart store where she worked. She was struck by a vehicle driven by Marvin Thomas. Cintron was eligible for […]
Owner of Vacation Home May be Liable to Renter for Fall on Stairwell Even if Design Complied with Construction Codes
Plaintiff Frank Danley rented a vacation home in Long Beach from Pasquale Pappalardo. The home had been recently renovated to add a third floor space which was accessible by an eight-step interior staircase. The plaintiff was talking to a friend standing in the kitchen and, while walking along the counter, missed the one step that […]
Minor Defendant Found to Have Breached No Duty to Minor Plaintiff in Sports Related Injury
Children sometimes are injured when playing sports with other kids. The issue decided by the Appellate Division in the published case of C.J.R. v. G.A, 2014 N.J. Super. LEXIS 165 (App. Div. December 8, 2014), is what standard should be applied in determining whether the minor breached any duty owed to the injured minor in […]
Don’t Forget to Negotiate the Nonmonetary Terms of Your Settlement Before You Reach a Final Settlement
Often parties are so focused on the monetary terms of a settlement, that they forget that there could be material nonmonetary terms that are important as well. Once a monetary offer is made and accepted, unless it has been made clear that there are other terms that are required to reach a final settlement, the […]
Doctrine of Res Ipsa Loquitor Saves Plaintiff’s Case from Dismissal
Plaintiff, Wendy Lazarus, was injured as she tried to enter the elevator at the PATH station. In Lazarus v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 2014 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2970 (App. Div. Dec. 29, 2014), the plaintiff sued the Port Authority for her injuries. Initially, her case was dismissed by the trial […]
No Legal Duty Owed by Fraternity to Plaintiff Who Was Shot While Attending Fraternity Party
The question of the legal duty owed is not always clear under New Jersey law, particularly, if the claimed injury does not fall within the analysis of traditional premises liability law. In Peguero v. Tau Kappa Epsilon, 2015 N.J. Super. LEXIS 9 (App. Div. 2015), the Appellate Division, in a published decision, had to decide […]
Mode of Operation Rule Does Not Apply to Fall Due to Milk Leaking from Milk Carton at Checkout Aisle
When the mode of operation doctrine applies in a personal injury case, it makes a case more difficult to defend because it eliminates the plaintiff’s burden of proof in establishing that the proprietor had notice of the dangerous condition. In the recent case of Novick v. Glass Gardens, Inc., 2014 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2873 […]
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