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Case Law Alerts

New Jersey Supreme Court Rules Out-of-State Alleged Tortfeasor Cannot Be Allocated Fault Under Comparative Negligence Act

Estate of Crystal Walcott Spill v. Jacob E. Markovitz, M.D., 2025 WL 758318

April 1, 2025

In this appeal before the New Jersey Supreme Court, the court held that an out-of-state alleged tortfeasor was not a party subject to allocation of fault by a jury pursuant to Comparative Negligence Act in a wrongful-death action. In this action, the estate of Crystal Walcott Spill and her surviving family members individually sued various physicians and medical providers for negligently sedating and performing surgery on Spill without first sufficiently examining her recent medical history, thereby causing her death.

In civil actions, the Comparative Negligence Act (CNA) and the Joint Tortfeasors Contribution Law (JTCL) provide for allocations of fault against, or contributions from, individuals and entities. However, the court recognized that the language of the CNA and the JTCL differ in important respects: the CNA allows allocation of fault during a trial only to a “party” or “parties,” N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.2(a), whereas the JTCL allows “joint tortfeasors” to seek contribution after a trial from other “persons” alleged to be “liable in tort for the same injury,” N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-1, -3. 

Therefore, upon dismissal of an individual or entity for lack of jurisdiction, that individual or entity has never been and may never be a party to that action within the definition of the CNA. Hence, the individual or entity as a non-party alleged tortfeasor who is outside the jurisdictional arm of New Jersey courts is not a “party” subject to allocation by the jury pursuant to the CNA. The same is not true, however, under the JTCL. Accordingly, if a judgment is rendered against defendant(s), they may then pursue any available contribution claims in a jurisdiction relevant to any additional alleged tortfeasors. 

 

Case Law Alerts, 2nd Quarter, April 2025 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey 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 © 2024 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.

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