Lawsuit reform needed

By Marcus Rayner | Hunterdon County Democrat

A jury recently awarded a $2.5 million judgment against Warren Township, population 16,000, over its handling of a report the Council received about an intoxicated municipal judge on the bench. With a total budget of $16 million, this is a surcharge residents will feel for years to come if it is not overturned on appeal.

Warren Township whistle-blower suit exposes NJ’s problematic legal climate

By Marcus Rayner | To the Editor, The Star-Ledger

Warren Township previously ranked in CNNMoney.com as one of the best places to live in the United States. The fact that a single judgment can absorb an eighth of its entire budget, however, threatens that status and its budgetary priorities.

Op-Ed: Legislation is necessary to limit suits in New Jersey

By Marcus Rayner | The Star-Ledger

Pleading guilty to a DUI charge might prompt most people to accept responsibility for endangering themselves and others.  In a nod to how notions of personal responsibility – and our courts’ appetite for lawsuits – have changed, Voss took Tiffany’s restaurant and Kristoffe Tranquilino, the driver of the car he hit, to court. 

Legislation would limit suits by drunk drivers

By Kathleen Hopkins | Asbury Park Press

In response to a recent state Supreme Court decision in an Ocean County case, an assemblyman has introduced a bill that would prohibit drunk drivers from suing the establishments that served them liquor.

Legislation to Overturn Voss v. Tranquilino Decision Introduced

A-4228 would prevent drivers convicted of DWI from suing bars which served them for their injuries

Stop legalized extortion: Op-Ed: Drunken motorist shouldn’t be able to sue for his injuries in NJ

By Marcus Rayner | Asbury Park Press

Our civil justice system wasn’t intended to offer financial incentives for irresponsible behavior – especially when it’s restaurateurs and consumers who are being forced to subsidize the court’s interpretation of the law.

N.J. tort reform group says state’s poor ranking no surprise

By John O’Brien | Legal Newsline

A Pacific Research Institute study that ranked New Jersey’s as the most worrisome tort system is proof reform is needed, a group dedicated to that effort said Monday.

N.J. SC: Lawsuits against bars can deter drunk driving

By Jessica M. Karmasek | Legal Newsline

Marcus Rayner, executive director of the New Jersey Lawsuit Reform Alliance, or NJLRA, issued a statement Monday in response to the Court’s decision.

To the Editor: Consumer Fraud Act Should Require Plaintiffs To Show Detrimental Reliance

By Marcus Rayner | New Jersey Law Journal

The Legislature enacted the Consumer Fraud Act in 1960, at a time when only the attorney general could sue to enforce its provisions.