Cortez-Staricco v. Pier Village LWAG, 2017 N.J. Super. LEXIS 975

Res ipsa loquitur claim dismissed by trial court but permitted on appeal for injury when sprinklers turned on.

The trial court ruling that res ipsa loquitur was inapplicable was reversed because expert testimony was required to determine why or how the sprinkler system could turn on. The plaintiff claimed she was injured when a ground-level sprinkler system turned on unexpectedly and jammed the wheels of her roller blades. The appellate court found that res ipsa loquitur applied as there were multiple defendants and the defendants had testified that the sprinkler would have to be manually reset to operate at a time other than when set by the contractor for between midnight and 4:30 a.m.

 

Case Law Alerts, 3rd Quarter, July 2017

Case Law Alerts is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2017 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.