Hughes Justice Complex, Trenton, NJ. Photo: Carmen Natale/ALM The Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton, New Jersey. Photo: Carmen Natale/ALM

The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that, while the plaintiff's handling of a personal injury matter "was hardly a model of diligence," the lower court erred in ruling that only the defendants were entitled to continue discovery.

Plaintiff Carmen R. Rodriguez De Collado allegedly tripped and fell on a broken sidewalk outside 265-267 Spring Street in Paterson, according to the appeals court's unpublished Dec. 9 opinion. Less than a year later, she filed a negligence complaint against Gardner Luciano and Paterson. On appeal, De Collado challenged four Law Division orders in which the court extended discovery only for the defendants, two orders granting summary judgment to the defendants, and an order denying her motion for the court to reconsider or vacate the first order.