New Jersey

Plaintiff’s Now Occasionally Entitled To Recording IMEs In NJ

Recently, the Appellate Division dealt with three separate cases consolidated into one appeal on the issue of when a plaintiff’s attorney may have a third-party attend a plaintiff’s medical exam with a defense doctor, as well as whether it is permissible for a plaintiff’s attorney to audio and/or video record his client’s exam with a defense doctor. Difiore et. al. v. Pezic, et al. dealt with...Read More

Intrafamily Exclusion In Auto Policy Ruled Unenforceable (NJ)

On May 6, 2022, a New Jersey appellate panel upheld a policyholder’s win in a coverage dispute with Travelers Insurance Company, holding an intrafamily step-down exclusion acted as a “hidden trap” in a family’s auto policy where not reflected in the policy declarations page. Specifically, in Cristina Dela Vega v. The Travelers Insurance Company, et al., (No.:...Read More

Affidavit Of Merit Statute Eroded Further (NJ)

In Haviland v. Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, Inc., the plaintiff was injured after being instructed by an unlicensed radiology technician to hold weights while undergoing a radiological imaging examination.  The plaintiff had undergone a left shoulder surgery shortly before the exam.  The Plaintiff thereafter alleged that he sustained injuries as a result of holding the weights...Read More

Mode Of Operation Delineated By NJ Supreme Court

In September of 2021, we reported on an Appellate Division’s decision in Jeter v. Sam’s Club where the Court found that New Jersey’s “mode of operation” rule did not apply to spilled grapes in a closed plastic container in a Sam’s club. Jeter v. Sam’s Club, 2021 WL 1961122 (App. Div. 2021). The plaintiff in Jeter appealed and were heard by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court affirmed in a 4-2...Read More

The Path Less Traveled: Walk on Grassy Medium Leads to Summary Judgment

Last month, New Jersey’s Appellate Division affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment decision where a Poconos Casino was granted summary judgment in a premises liability action. In Failla v. Mount Airy Casino Resort, LP, a plaintiff and her son travelled from Lyndhurst, New Jersey to Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono Pennsylvania. Plaintiff was walking in the casino’s handicapped...Read More

Injuries Sustained At The End Of A Workday Are Still Compensable Under the Workers’ Compensation Act (NJ)

In Diane S. Lapsley v. Township of Sparta, defendants appealed from a denial of workers’ compensation benefits to plaintiff under the Workers Compensation Act. Plaintiff was employed as a librarian for the Sparta Public Library by the Township. After leaving the library at the end of her workday and while walking through the parking lot to her car, plaintiff was struck and injured by a...Read More

New Theory Of Liability At Summary Judgment Phase Disallowed (NJ)

The matter of Stewart v. New Jersey Turnpike Authority was recently decided by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.  In that matter, the plaintiff motorcyclists were injured after a motorcycle accident involving no other vehicles.  The collective plaintiffs alleged throughout litigation that they lost control of the motorcycle when they struck a piece of metal in a bridge’s expansion joint that...Read More

New Jersey Passes Insurance Fair Conduct Act (NJ)

On January 18, 2022, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the New Jersey Insurance Fair Conduct Act.  The Act establishes a private cause of action for first-party claimants against a UIM insurer for “unreasonably” denying or delaying claims.  It also allows a claimant to sue the insurer if the insurer violates any provision of New Jersey’s Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act which governs...Read More

The End Is Near. Statutory Bad Faith Begins in NJ

Well, it finally happened.  After a few years of debates and a not insignificant amount of plaintiff lobbying, this week, Governor Murphy signed into law the New Jersey Insurance Fair Conduct Act. The law creates statutory bad faith in NJ.  Fortunately (although this is likely the canary in the coal mine), the law ONLY applies to parties injured in a motor vehicle accident who are entitled to...Read More

Hot Yoga Gone Wrong: Gym Saved by Exculpatory Clause in Member Usage Agreement

When it comes to slip and falls, one doesn’t usually think of a hot yoga studio in a luxury gym as a site rife with hazardous conditions. However, in New Jersey, the Appellate Division had to examine a summary judgment decision in a case where plaintiff allegedly slipped and fell on sweat on the floor of a hot yoga studio in Florham Park. Skarbnik v. Life Time Fitness, Inc., 2021 WL 3923270...Read More