In Hanna v. Woodland Community Association, the New Jersey Appellate Division was asked to determine whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to a landscaper, a community association, and a property management company based on the “on-going storm rule” adopted by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Pareja v. Princeton Int’l Props. in 2021. Under this rule, commercial landowners do not have a duty to remove the accumulation of snow and ice until the conclusion of a winter storm. The Court agreed with the trial court that under the rule, the landscaper, community association and management company had
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NJ Appeals Court Finds Landlord Property Owner Has No Duty of Care for Personal Injury Claim Where Lease Requires Tenant Business to Maintain Property
The New Jersey Appellate Division upheld a trial court’s grant of summary judgment to a defendant landowner in a personal injury negligence suit brought against the property owner and tenant for injuries sustained at the leased property. In Gudoski v. Rock Pile Property, LLC, the court addressed a situation where Plaintiff was injured when he went to the leased property to give his friend—the owner of the tenant business—some advice about a crack in the building. Under the lease with the landowner, the tenant was responsible for all maintenance and repairs to the building. While inspecting the property, he fell
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PAED Rules That Public Adjuster Not Qualified to Testify to Causation of Loss and Coverage Under the Insurance Policy
In Coates v. Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company, the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania addressed a situation where an insured attempted to name his public adjuster (“PA”) as an expert to testify to the cause of a property damage loss and coverage under the policy. In granting the insurer’s motion in limine to preclude the PA’s report and testimony, the judge found that while the PA meet the “qualification” prong under FRE 702, he failed to meet the “reliability” and “fit” prongs. Accordingly, the PA’s report and testimony were barred. The loss at issue in this
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NJDC Deems Independent Contractor Delivery Drivers Employees Under the ABC Test in Summary Judgment Ruling
In Portillo v. National Freight, Inc. (“NFI”), a class of commercial truck drivers brought suit against NFI alleging that it misclassified them as independent contractors (“ICs”) and improperly deducted certain fees from their pay in violation of the New Jersey Wage Payment Law (“WPL”). The parties filed cross motions for summary judgment on the issue of whether the drivers were ICs or employees under New Jersey law. Utilizing the ABC Test, the court held that NFI misclassified the drivers as ICs when, in fact, they were actual employees of NFI. The class of drivers were truck owner operators that made
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New Jersey Supreme Court Adopts ‘Ongoing Storm Rule,’ Preempting Landowner Liability for Clearing Ice or Snow From Sidewalks
Addressing whether commercial landowners owe a duty to clear snow and ice from their property during a storm, the New Jersey Supreme Court has adopted the ongoing storm rule, under which a landowner does not have a duty to remove snow or ice from public walkways until a reasonable time after the cessation of precipitation. Angel Alberto Pareja v. Princeton International Properties (2021). In January 2015, plaintiff Angel Alberto Pareja was walking to work when he slipped on ice, fell, and broke his hip. The sidewalk area on which he fell was on property owned and managed by defendant Princeton
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Philadelphia Court Refuses to Dismiss Bar’s COVID-19 Lawsuit Against Underwriters
Without providing a substantive rationale, a state court judge in Philadelphia has refused to preliminarily dismiss a bar’s COVID-19 business interruption lawsuit brought against certain London Market underwriters. In a two-page order, the court in Taps & Bourbon on Terrace LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, No. 200700375 (Phila. C.C.P. Oct. 26, 2020) determined that it would be “premature” to address the insurer’s factual contentions. “Taking the factual allegations made [in] the plaintiff’s complaint as true, as this court must at this time, plaintiff has successfully pled to survive this stage of the proceedings. Moreover, the law and facts
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New Jersey Appellate Division Upholds Insurer’s Denial of Coverage in Fatal Bar Shooting
New Jersey’s Appellate Division recently held that an insurance policy’s assault-or-battery exclusion precluded a bar’s claim for coverage for a lawsuit alleging that the bar negligently permitted a customer to enter and shoot another patron. The claim at issue in Pickett v. Moore’s Lounge, A-2330-17T2 (App. Div. 2020) involved a fatal shooting at a tavern following an argument. The decedent’s estate sued the tavern owner for damages alleging that the tavern negligently permitted the shooter to enter the tavern armed, remain at the tavern, and then intentionally shoot the victim. The shooter was convicted of recklessly causing the death of
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Surface Water Exclusions” in homeowners’ policy bars coverage for Sandy flood damage, N.J. appellate court says
The New Jersey Appellate Division has affirmed summary judgment for defendant-insurers Chubb Insurance and its member company Federal Insurance, upholding the flood damage exclusion in the policies of two plaintiff-insureds. Doerfler v. Federal Insurance Company arose in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, which caused the insureds’ Mantoloking, NJ homes to collapse in 2013. Both policies excluded coverage for flood damage and contained a notification page delineating the “surface water exclusion.” The exclusion specifically encompassed water damage “driven by wind.” The insureds procured additional flood insurance policies from Fidelity National Indemnity Insurance Company. Adjusters on behalf of Chubb and Federal Insurance
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New Jersey Appellate Court Excludes Expert Testimony as Net Opinion
An Appellate Division panel in New Jersey has affirmed a lower court order barring a plaintiff’s expert from testifying at trial because his conclusions were net opinion, offering no basis for the opinion that a sidewalk was a dangerous condition at the time of a slip and fall. In Fisher v. Yum Yum Bagel Café, plaintiff, a 75-year-old woman, was vacationing in New York City and staying in Cliffside Park. After returning from a trip to the city, she was walking to her residence when her “right foot was caught” on a raised edge surround a handicap ramp. As she
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Contractor seeking indemnity in a construction defect litigation survives summary judgment, court dismisses bad faith and promissory estoppel claims against insurer
A Federal District Court judge in South Carolina has determined that material questions remain for trial in a complex insurance matter tied to an underlying construction defect class action against Dan Ryan Builders, LLC. Dan Ryan Builders West Virginia, LLC et al. v. Main Street America Assurance Co., No. 2:18-cv-00589-SCN (D.S.C.), arose from a dispute between Dan Ryan Builders and a class of homeowners living in allegedly damaged houses in a South Carolina subdivision known as Foxbank. The construction company hired several subcontractors to construct Foxbank, and the subcontractors’ insurers are the defendants ultimately sued to defend and indemnify Dan
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