Civil Lawsuits
New Jersey Supreme Court Approves Increase in Jurisdictional Limits of Small Claims and Special Civil Part
New Jersey provides the opportunity for litigants to file a lawsuit in either Small Claims court or Special Civil Part of the Superior Court if those claims are under the jurisdictional limits of those courts. As of July 1, 2022, the jurisdictional limit for a civil matter to be brought in Small Claims court will […]
Mode Of Operation Doctrine Not Applied To A Fall At Restaurant Due to A Greasy Food Wrapper
Plaintiff Francine Latorraca fell while a customer at a McDonalds restaurant and suffered an injury. She claims to have fallen as a result of a greasy food wrapper on the floor near the front register. The issue in Latorraca v. Aladyn, Inc., 2021 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 998 (App. Div. May 25, 2021) was whether […]
Defense IME Doctor Found to Be Obligated To Provide Copies of Articles Referred to In His Report
The plaintiff, Frank Campbell was involved in an automobile accident with a vehicle operated by Joyce Roberts. Plaintiff claimed that Roberts negligently operated her vehicle and that her negligence was a proximate cause of his accident and his injuries. Plaintiff filed an Underinsured Motorist claim with his insurance company, Allstate Insurance Co. as a result […]
Plaintiff in Personal Injury Action Barred from Testifying that his Automobile was Totaled
Plaintiff Mariusz Kuzian claimed to have suffered personal injuries in a motor vehicle accident caused by the defendant Steven Tomaszewski. During the trial, his lawyer questioned him as to whether his vehicle was totaled in the accident. The issue in Kuzian v. Tomaszewski, 2018 N.J. Super. LEXIS 183 (Law Div. July 12, 2018) was whether […]
Plaintiff’s Counsel Barred from Asking Plaintiff at Trial Whether Passenger in His Vehicle Suffered an Injury
Plaintiff Haroon Rashid claimed to have suffered an injury while working as a jitney driver when his vehicle was struck on the passenger side by defendant’s vehicle shortly after plaintiff picked up passengers from a local casino. One of the passengers was thrown from her seat, injured, and taken to the hospital by ambulance. In […]
Third Circuit Rules that Plaintiff May Sue Insurance Carrier under the Consumer Fraud Act for Deceptive Practices with Respect to her Personal Injury Claim
Plaintiff Ana Lidia Alpizar-Fallas sued Progressive Garden State Insurance Company (“Progressive”) and one of its agents, claiming that the Progressive agent violated the Consumer Fraud Act due to deceptive business practices. Alpizar-Fallas was insured by Progressive, as was the driver of the other vehicle. She claimed to have suffered a personal injury in a car […]
Plaintiff Unable to Meet Verbal Threshold Based Upon Family Doctor’s Opinion Of Decline in Mental Status Due to Car Accident
Plaintiff Ann Giesguth was in a motor vehicle accident with a car driven by defendant Anthony Costanza. A week after the accident, she was found unresponsive and was taken to the hospital. She was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. The hospital notes indicated that she “apparently suffered a closed head injury, TBI (traumatic brain injury) […]
Plaintiff Covered by Domestic Partner’s Verbal Threshold Selection in Insurance Policy
Plaintiff Robert Calderone (“Calderone”) claimed to have been injured as a result of an automobile accident with the defendant Michael DeFeo II (“DeFeo”). After Calderone sued DeFeo for his injuries, the defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, requesting a dismissal on the basis that plaintiff’s injuries did not satisfy the verbal threshold (also known […]
Mode of Operation Doctrine Rejected for Accident Caused by Fall on Laundry Detergent in Mailroom of Apartment Building
Plaintiff Maryann Zagloba injured her back when she slipped on laundry detergent spilled in the mailroom of her apartment building. She sued the owner of the building, Vista Gardens Associates LLC (“Vista Gardens”), for her injuries. She argued that the mode of operation doctrine should apply and, as a result, that she did not have […]
Plaintiff Unable to Prove Erectile Dysfunction Caused by Accident without Expert Testimony
In a damages only trial for an uninsured motorist claim, the jury awarded the plaintiff $1.5 million in compensatory damages. The judge molded the verdict to the insurance company’s $500,000 policy limit. Thereafter, in Chetney v. New Jersey Manufacturers Re-Insurance Co., 2018 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1718 (App. Div. July 17, 2018), the UM carrier, […]
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