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Erny v. Estate of Merola

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Argued September 24, 2001

On certification to the Superior Court, Appellate Division, whose opinion is reported at 333 N.J. Super. 88 (2000).

The choice-of-law question presented in this appeal requires the Court to decide whether New Jersey or New York law should apply to determine the joint and several liability of the defendants. The underlying occurrence was an automobile accident in New Jersey that involved a New Jersey plaintiff and two New York defendants. After a trial the New York defendant drivers were found sixty and forty percent at fault respectively. New Jersey’s law shields all defendants less than sixty percent at fault from joint liability for damages in excess of their apportioned responsibility. New York’s law specifically subjects defendants in auto negligence actions to joint and several liability irrespective of their allocated percentage of fault, consistent with that state’s policy of providing recovery to plaintiffs in such cases. To resolve the choice-of-law question, we must evaluate the respective interests of the two involved states to determine the state that has the most significant interest in governing the joint and several liability issue. Having done so, we conclude that New York law has primacy in these circumstances.

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