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Subrogation Claims by New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Carriers Permitted Against PIP Carriers
Recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court expressly determined that Workers’ Compensation benefits are to work synergistically with Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits that are required of all New Jersey automobile insurance policies by New Jersey’s Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act (AICRA). Workers’ Compensation is often considered an “exclusive remedy” for injuries sustained while acting in the course and scope of employment. However, in the case of New Jersey Transit Corporation v. Sanchez, the Court carved ...
Read More....Can Your Neighbor Cut Down The Trees in Your Yard and Get Away With It?
In a recent case, the plaintiffs who sued their neighbors for removing bamboo from their property without permission were unable to recover damages. The New Jersey Supreme Court found the plaintiffs failed to show evidence that the removal led to a diminution in their property value or constituted a loss of peculiar value that was personal to the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs, Joseph and Donna Kornbleuth (the Kornbleuths), owned a property adjoining that of the defendants, Thomas and Betsy Westover (the Westovers). The properties...
Read More....Shark Tank Host Barbara Corcoran Nearly Loses $400K to Phishing Scam
Even some of the smartest sharks can get out-sharked every once in a while. Barbara Corcoran, host of the popular television show Shark Tank nearly lost $400,000 when a scammer posed as her assistant. Fortunately, quick action by Corcoran’s bank prevented the scammer from making away with the cash.
Posing as her assistant, the scammer sent an email to Corcoran’s bookkeeper requesting a payment of $400,000 for alleged renovations. Due to the fact that Corcoran’s business deals mostly in real estate, this request did not raise any red...
Read More....Plaintiff Can Not Be Forced To Accept Settlement She Refused Absent Guardianship Action
Parties involved in lawsuits have a fundamental right to control the direction of that lawsuit, subject only to the strictest procedural safeguards in cases of alleged mental incapacity. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently reaffirmed its commitment to upholding this form of autonomy in a recent case, reversing both the trial and appellate courts and noting that such a right is protected by state laws and even the State Constitution.
In that case, the plaintiff, S.T., was a former chemical engineer who refused to accept a settlement...
Read More....Who is Liable When You Crash the Golf Cart?
According to the New Jersey Appellate Division, whether a man was negligent in permitting his 82-year-old father-in-law to drive a golf cart resulting in an accident is a question to be decided by a jury. In a recent case, the Appellate Division reversed summary judgment for the man who rented the golf cart, holding that a triable issue of fact existed as to whether he was negligent in letting an incompetent person operate the vehicle.
In that case, the defendant, Philip Capavanni (Philip), rented a golf cart at Beaver Brook Country Club....
Read More....How Is Employment Status Determined For Purposes of NJ Workers’ Compensation Coverage?
A Plaintiff who recently received a workers’ compensation award saw his judgment vacated on appeal because the trial judge did not make any witness credibility findings or apply his factual findings to the appropriate law. In that case, the Appellate Division stressed the importance of analyzing 12 factors when determining whether an employment relationship exists and also of assessing the credibility of witnesses whose testimony conflicts. Finding the record devoid of this analysis, the Appellate Division vacated and remanded...
Read More....Recent Case Analyzes New Jersey Pregnant Worker’s Fairness Act
A pregnant police officer who challenged her employer’s maternity standard operating procedure (SOP) will be able to proceed with her lawsuit after the New Jersey Appellate Division reversed summary judgment for her employer. At the heart of the claim was a provision of the SOP that required pregnant officers to use all of their accumulated paid-leave time as part of the SOP, while non-pregnant officers who requested light-duty could request a waiver from a similar provision.
The plaintiff, Kathleen Delanoy (Kathleen), was a police...
Read More....New Jersey Homeowners Must Pay Contractor’s Bill Despite Lack of Building Permits
A plaintiff construction company will be paid the outstanding balance of a home renovation project, despite allegations by the defendants that the company did not substantially complete the work and created, and failed to correct, a dangerous condition in the home. In a recent case by the New Jersey Appellate Division, the court held that the plaintiff substantially completed the work required by the contract and was therefore entitled to payment due under the contract, while also finding that the defendants did not have a valid consumer...
Read More....Do Not Build in Violation of Set Back Requirements BEFORE Receiving Approval
Sometimes, unlike the old adage, it is not better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission first. A New Jersey plaintiff who was denied a variance for his deck, which did not comply with local ordinances, failed to obtain approval from the Superior Court. In the case recently affirmed by the New Jersey Appellate Division, the court held that the plaintiff failed to meet his heavy burden of proving that he was wrongly denied the variance and instead deferred to the local planning board’s decision.
The plaintiff owned a single-family...
Read More....No Recovery for Slip and Fall on Shampoo Due to Store’s Lack of Notice Defense
A Plaintiff who sues a store for injuries caused by a slip and fall on a spilled product must first show that the store knew of the spill or had a reasonable opportunity to discover and remedy the dangerous condition. In a case recently affirmed by the New Jersey Appellate Division, the court held that the three-minute interval between when one customer spilled a bottle of shampoo, and another slipped on it, was not enough time to give the store a reasonable opportunity to discover and remedy the spill.
In that case, the plaintiff, Beverly...
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