NJ Laws Email Newsletter E295 February 12, 2009 Kenneth Vercammen, Attorney at Law 1. Herniated disc not always permanent injury Ames v. Gopal 120908 A252207T1 The Appellate Division held Plaintiff was not entitled at trial to an instruction that a herniated disc constitutes a permanent injury, entitling him to noneconomic damages. The Appellate Division reduced Pardo v. Dominguez 382 N.J. Super. 489 (App. Div. 2006). 2. Municipal Court cannot Access Penalty for Consumer Fraud. State v. TriWay Kars, Inc. 402 NJ Super. 215 (App. Div. Decided August 5, 2008) A125607T4 The court held that a municipal court had no jurisdiction under N.J.S.A. 56:814 to assess a penalty for an alleged Consumer Fraud Act violation in connection with the sale of a used motor vehicle because N.J.S.A. 56:814 only grants jurisdiction over penalty enforcement actions. The court also held that the Central Municipal Court of Bergen County had no jurisdiction under N.J.S.A. 56:814.1 to assess such a penalty because that statute expressly limits jurisdiction over penalty assessment cases to municipalities "where the offense was committed or where the defendant may be found." Here, the offense was committed in South Hackensack where defendant conducted business and we concluded that this specific statute trumped the general power of the Assignment Judge to refer cases to the Central Municipal Court under N.J.S.A. 2B:121(e). Finally, the court provided guidance for future actions respecting the insufficiency of the municipal court "ComplaintSummons SF1 and SF2" to adequately provide notice of the essential facts of a penalty assessment action, as opposed to a penalty enforcement action where the use of these forms has been approved by the Administrative Office of the Courts. 3. Penalty cannot be Enhanced if Prior Statute was Ambiguous. State v. Gelman 195 NJ 475 ( 2008) A42 The current N.J.S.A. 2C:341 is insolubly ambiguous concerning whether a defendant can be charged with the fourthdegree crime of prostitution based on a prior petty disorderly persons conviction under the predecessor statute. The Court is thus compelled to apply the doctrine of lenity and dismiss the indictment.
4. Failure of Owner to Cooperate with Insurance Company can Void Coverage.