Ocean City will pay a deputy fire chief more than $200,000 to end his lawsuit against the city.

In a confidential agreement signed Sept. 29, Mark McCulley accepted a $115,000 settlement to dismiss his complaints against the Ocean City Fire Department for wrongful suspensions issued for what the city called "misappropriating funds."

A recent decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court has the potential to decimate the hospitality industry, Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan said Wednesday.

Cryan made the remarks at the Fall Membership Luncheon held by the New Jersey Lawsuit Reform Alliance, a group that has been highly critical of the decision.

"...I would say he has done some good work in the area of tort reform, which is something we have to take a look at it New Jersey."

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. Schools are a legitimate beneficiary of municipal taxes. Lawyers' fees and mishandling should not be given the same resources.

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.

The case stems from a 2006 incident in which an Ocean County man crashed his motorcycle into a car and injured himself.  He pled guilty to a DWI charge but later filed a lawsuit against Tiffany's Restaurant in Toms River, where he had consumed alcohol, for the injuries he sustained while driving drunk.   

"The Court today has once again defied the will of the legislature to the detriment of business and common sense in New Jersey.  The legislature sought, in plain language, to bar suits against bars and restaurants by intoxicated patrons under the motor vehicle laws of this state. Today drunk drivers can minimize personal responsibility for their actions and sue the restaurateurs of New Jersey for serving them drinks.

The case stems from a 2006 incident in which Fredrick Voss crashed his motorcycle into a car and injured himself.  His blood alcohol level was nearly two-and-a-half times the legal limit.  He pled guilty to a DWI charge but later filed suit against Tiffany's Restaurant in Toms River under the Dram Shop Act.