| Issue: The New Jersey
Legislature continues to threaten consideration of bills
that would allow unlimited emotional damages in cases of
wrongful death. These bills, S-763/A-1158, passed the
Legislature in 2008 by one vote in each chamber, only to be
pocket vetoed by Governor Corzine. There is a high risk
that the bills are passed again during this “lame duck”
session.
Act now to call your NJ State legislators and express
your opposition to these bills!
Background:
New Jersey’s current Wrongful Death law provides fair and
equitable compensation to families that have suffered harm
due to the wrongful death of a loved one. New Jersey courts
are consistently generous when interpreting the current law,
providing expansive views of the pecuniary damage
requirement, especially true in cases involving children.
New Jersey’s current law is working
– and working well –
to ensure justice for its citizens.
Amending the law, as proposed in
S-763/A-1158, would take an already liberally-interpreted
Wrongful Death Act and create one of the most extreme Acts
in the country.
S-763/A-1158 allow for the recovery of
unlimited emotional damages in wrongful death cases,
which vastly expands the kinds of damages that can be sought
and goes far beyond the purpose of wrongful death laws,
which is to provide compensation for loss of economic
support and other economic damages. The bill creates
vaguely-defined and highly-subjective reasons for which
damages can be sought with no rationale or standards as to
how damages are to be determined.
If enacted, New Jersey would be one of only
eight states that do not cap grief damages in wrongful death
cases, placing our law well outside of the mainstream and
encourage extensive new litigation that will clog New Jersey
courts and hurt New Jersey employers and health care
providers.
The sweeping scope and vagueness of the bill
- combined with a virtual blank check on damage awards -
creates opportunities for abuse, invites punitive and unfair
treatment of defendants, and encourages novel legal theory
to continually expand the types of injury for which
compensation can be sought.
Specifically, S-763/A-1158 expands the law
as follows:
“Damages may also be recovered hereunder
for mental anguish, emotional pain and suffering, loss
of society and loss of companionship.”
In January of 2008, the Assembly passed
the wrongful death expansion by 41-32 and the Senate by
21-11. Governor Corzine vetoed the bill -- but there is no
guarantee that he will do so again.
ACT NOW! Go to
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/ and go to “Find Your
Legislator” on the left side. Call all three members in your
district. Both the Senate and Assembly are in play on this
issue – and they need to hear from you!
More information? Report responses?
Contact Beverly Lynch, 609/392-7553,
blynch@blynch@blynchassociates.com |
