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 […]
Condo Association No Liability for Fall on Interior Sidewalk
With all the ice and snow this winter, condominium associations (and their insurers) that maintain interior sidewalks in their community will be breathing a sigh of relief that they have no liability for an injury from a fall on an icy patch on an interior sidewalk. In the unpublished Appellate Division decision, Qian v. Toll […]
No Duty Owed by Private Utility to Remove Dead Tree
No Duty Owed by Private Utility Company to Remove Dead Tree in Right of Way to Prevent Accident The Plaintiffs in McGlynn v. State of New Jersey, no. L-2-06 (App. Div. Jan. 3, 2014) claimed that Jersey Central Power and Light Company (“JCP&L”) owed a duty of care to remove vegetation in its right of […]
No NJ Jurisdiction Found for Illinois Employee
Illinois Based Employee of Computer Consulting Software Company Cannot be Sued in New Jersey Due to Lack of Jurisdiction Baanyan Software Services tried to sue its Illinois based employee in New Jersey for breach of contract. In Baanyan Software Services v. Kuncha, no. A-2058-12T3 (Dec. 19, 2013 App. Div.), the Appellate Division found that New […]
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