Another Appellate Victory – Case Was Dismissed, Now the Plaintiff Gets His Date in Court

Our client had been represented by another attorney in this New Jersey premises liability/slip and fall case. Not surprisingly, the defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss alleging that our client had not presented sufficient evidence to let a jury decide his case. The trial court judge agreed and dismissed the case.

Fortunately, the client then hired us (at the referral of his personal attorney) to file and handle the appeal. And today the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, agreed that the trial court had erred by dismissing the case, and reversed its decision. Our client now has his day in court, where we will also represent him. After all, while we handle lots of appeals, we also are ready and able to handle cases from start to finish.

Last year, we won 94% of the appeals and motions we handled, and while we haven’t compiled the statistics for 2018, we are confident that our rate of success will continue to be far better than average. Why? Our team works to assure that we address all of the key issues in a persuasive manner. We summed up this case as follows:

By granting Defendant’s Motion, the Court removed the jury’s right to make credibility determinations (1) whether Defendant Voorhees had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition home, (2) whether Plaintiff adequately identified the nature of his fall on the garage stairs, and (3) about the weight, if any, to be given to the building codes identified in Plaintiffs’ expert report. Thus, the trial court abused its discretion by impermissibly engaging in fact-finding and making credibility determinations.

Thanks to our team, Attorneys Nicole Kratzer (who helped me prepare the brief) and Christa Frank High (who argued the appeal), for this great victory. Now our client will have his day in court.

Click here to read the New Jersey Appellate Division Opinion.