No Duty To Warn for Open and Obvious Condition
Plaintiff Thomas Hackett suffered injuries when he hit his head on the ceiling when climbing a ladder to a water tower on the roof of a commercial building to repair an air conditioner. He was a technician working for Statewide Conditioning Inc., which had a contract with the defendants to perform the HVAC repair work. […]
Skidding of Automobile Does Not Give Rise to Inference of Negligence
Irena Pronina (“Pronina”), while operating a Hummer at 4:30 in the morning, drove down a hill, spun out on ice, and ended up on the grassy median on Route 78 in Somerset County. George Howell (“Howell”) was injured after trying to help her and signal motorists coming down the hill as to the ice. Whether […]
Entire Controversy Doctrine Does Not Bar Subsequent Products Liability Suit
Plaintiff Shaun Armstrong was injured while on a Disney cruise. He fell from his wheelchair while on a ramp leaving the ship, struck the hot deck, and suffered burns and fractured both femurs. At the time, he was operating a wheelchair manufactured by Pride Mobility Products (“Pride”). He filed a negligence lawsuit in federal court […]
Expert Needed to Prove Liability for Slip and Fall
In Turkowski v. Management Resources Systems, Inc., 2014 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 705 (App.Div. 2014), the plaintiff sued Rack Room Shoes, Inc. for personal injuries resulting from a fall at Rack Room, a retail shoe store. The trial court found that the plaintiff was unable to establish the defendant’s negligence without a liability expert and […]
Settling Defendant Not Entitled to Pursue Cross-Claim for Contribution
A company responsible for maintaining cargo lifts found out in Cherilus v. Federal Express, 2014 N.J. Super. LEXIS 47 (App. Div. 2013) that after it settled with plaintiff, it would not be able to pursue the co-defendant manufacturer for contribution. In Cherilus, the plaintiff, Joseph Cherilus, was injured on a cargo lift at a Federal […]
Spoliation Claim May Be Pursued Against Defendant Homeowner
Plaintiff Merri Chapin, while on her way home from work on a rainy and very windy day, was struck by a tree limb that came through her windshield and pierced her left arm and abdomen. The tree limb was alleged to be from one of two trees on Defendant Kathleen Samaras’s property. In Chapin v. […]
Payment of Insurance Settlement by Carrier Does Not Entitle Insured to Attorneys Fees
T. Glennon, Inc. (“TGI”) sued its excess insurance carrier, the Hartford Casualty Insurance Company (“Hartford”), for attorneys fees incurred in its lawsuit brought to determine coverage for an intentional wrong employee workplace personal injury suit filed against TGI. In Johnson v. Plasser American Corp., 2014 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 372 (App.Div. 2014), TGI argued that, […]
Mode of Operation Rule Found Not Applicable to Fall at KFC
Janice Prioleau fell at a Kentucky Fried Chicken on a substance she believed to be a mix of grease and water on its floor. In Prioleau v. Kentucky Fried Chicken, Inc., 2014 N.J. Super. LEXIS 29 (App.Div. Mar. 3, 2014), the Appellate Division decided that it was error for the trial court to charge the […]
Why You Should Take an Offer of Judgment Seriously
Typically, defendants ignore an offer of judgment filed by a plaintiff. The published Appellate Division decision in Feliciano v. Faldetta, 2014 N.J. Super. LEXIS (App. Div. 2014) should give defendants a reason to take these offers seriously. In Feliciano, a $15,000 offer of judgment, which was rejected, turned into a $109,185 judgment after attorneys fees, […]
Frustration of Purpose Valid Defense in NJ Contract Action
By: Betsy G. Ramos, Esq. The Doctrine of Frustration of Purpose is a valid defense in a breach of contract action. However, in JB Pool Management, LLC v. Four Seasons at Smithville Homeowners Assoc., 2013 N.J. Super. LEXIS 88 (June 13, 2013 App. Div.), the Appellate Division held that this defense must be pled as […]
Betsy G. Ramos
redbanknaacp
Stephen Gilbert
Tom Begley
Connect With Capehart Scatchard