New Jersey Issues

Reforms View All »

Joint and Several Liability Reform: SB 1494 (1995).

New Jersey|1995

Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability

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Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability in the recovery of all damages from defendants found to be less than 60% at fault. (The law formerly extended the 60% threshold for noneconomic damages only.) The reform does not apply to toxic torts.

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Joint and Several Liability Reform: SB 2703, SB 2708 (1987): N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:15-5.3.

New Jersey|1987

Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability

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Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability in the recovery of all damages from defendants found to be less than 20% at fault. Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability in the recovery of noneconomic damages from defendants found to be between 20% and 60% at fault.

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Reforms View All »

Product Liability Reform: SB 1495 (1995).

New Jersey|1995

Excludes product sellers from strict liability in product liability actions.

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Excludes product sellers from strict liability in product liability actions.

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Product Liability Reform: SB 2805 (1987).

New Jersey|1987

Provides that a manufacturer or seller of a product is

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Provides that a manufacturer or seller of a product is liable only if the plaintiff proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the product was not suitable or safe because it: (1) deviated from the design specifications or performance standards; (2) failed to contain adequate warnings; or (3) was designed in a defective manner. Provides that a manufacturer or seller is not liable if at the time the product left the manufacturer’s control there was not available a practical and feasible alternative design that would have prevented the harm. Provides that a product’s design is not defective if the harm results from an inherent characteristic of the product that is known to the ordinary person who uses or consumes it. Provides that a manufacturer or seller is not liable for a design defect if the harm results from an unavoidably unsafe aspect of a product and the product was accompanied by an adequate warning. Provides that the state of the art provision does not apply if the court makes all of the following determinations: (1) that the product is egregiously unsafe; (2) that the user could not be expected to have knowledge of the product’s risk; and (3) that the product has little or no usefulness. Provides that a manufacturer or seller in a warning‑defect case is not liable if an adequate warning is given. (An adequate warning is one that a reasonably prudent person in the similar circumstances would have provided.) Establishes a rebuttable presumption that a government (FDA) warning is adequate.

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Reforms View All »

Punitive Damages Reform: Damages Limits: SB 1496 (1995): N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:15‑5.14.

New Jersey|1995

Limits the award of punitive damages to the greater of

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Limits the award of punitive damages to the greater of five times the award of compensatory damages or $350,000. The reform does not apply to cases involving bias crimes, discrimination, AIDS testing disclosure, sexual abuse, and injuries caused by drunk drivers.

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Punitive Damages Reform: Actual Malice: SB 2805 (1987).

New Jersey|1987

Requires a plaintiff to show that a defendant acted with

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Requires a plaintiff to show that a defendant acted with “actual malice” or “wanton and willful disregard” for the rights of others. Requires the determination of awards for punitive damages to be made in a separate proceeding. Provides for an FDA government standards defense to punitive damages. The reform does not apply to cases involving environmental torts.

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Miscellaneous

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Frivolous Claims: A.B. 1366 (1988)

New Jersey|1988

A court may assess costs and attorney fees upon a

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A court may assess costs and attorney fees upon a finding that a complaint, counterclaim, cross-claim or defense of a nonprevailing party was frivolous.

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Unchallenged

Derivative Proceedings and Shareholder Class Actions: AB 3123 (2013)

New Jersey|2013

Requires a written demand be made on the corporation for

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Requires a written demand be made on the corporation for derivative suits. The new demand requirement grants the company 90 days to respond and stays all proceedings, including discovery, during this period. It also allows the corporation to move for a stay of proceedings if it is currently conducting an investigation. Raises the amount of ownership in the company that a shareholder must have in order to avoid posting security in any shareholder class action or derivative suit. Requires that the shareholder hold ownership at the time of filing suit and remains a shareholder for the duration of the suit. Next and significantly, the court shall dismiss the case if the corporation moves for dismissal after specified groups have determined “in good faith, after conducting a reasonable inquiry upon which its conclusions are based, the maintenance of the derivative proceedings is not in the best interest of the corporation.” The specified groups include: (1) a majority vote of shareholders; (2) a majority vote of independent directors; (3) a majority vote of a committee appointed by independent directors; (4) a panel appointed by the court at the request of the corporation. Finally, introduces a fee shifting provision which requires plaintiffs to pay the corporation if the suit was brought without the exercise of reasonable diligence, cause or with improper purpose.

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Unchallenged

Latest News

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ATRA Puts New Jersey on ‘Heat Watch’ in New Legislative Report

Press Releases

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Press Releases

The American Tort Reform Foundation issued its 2016-2017 Judicial Hellholes® report, naming courts in Missouri, California, New York, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, Louisiana, Virginia and Texas among the nation’s “most […]

Phantom Damages Reform

Appeal Bond Reform

Joint and Several Liability

Medical Liability Reform

Product Liability

Punitive Damages

Miscellaneous

Latest News

View all news

ATRA Puts New Jersey on ‘Heat Watch’ in New Legislative Report

Reports Reveal Influence of Trial Lawyers on New Jersey’s Legal Landscape

Supreme Court’s Adoption of Novel Theories of Liability, Abusive ‘No-Injury’ Litigation, Place California atop Latest ‘Judicial Hellholes’ List

‘Junk Science,’ Outlier Verdicts Put St. Louis Atop Latest ‘Judicial Hellholes’ List