Appellate Court Finds Disputes in Crash, No Conviction or Guilty Plea to DWI
"Here, the Legislature's language is plain and unambiguous," Judge Carmen Messano said. "It evidences the clear intention to deny a plaintiff convicted of DWI the possibility of prevailing in a suit for damages arising from the subject motor vehicle accident by eliminating the convicted plaintiff's 'cause of action.'"
March 06, 2023 at 05:49 PM
5 minute read
Credit: Evgeniy Kalinovskiy/Adobe Stock The New Jersey Appellate Division concluded that, absent a conviction or guilty plea to driving under the influence, state law does not bar the claim of a plaintiff injured in a traffic accident even though he admitted to drinking and may have had a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit at the time of the crash.
According to the opinion, the plaintiff, George Castano, was driving his motorcycle southbound in the left lane of Tonnelle Avenue in Jersey City around 1:15 a.m. on Nov. 20, 2019. Castano had visited three different bars since 2 p.m. the day before. In his deposition, Castano said both that he was drunk at the time of the accident and that he had alcohol in his system but was not drunk.
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