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Beauchamp v. Amedio6/8/2000
Argued March 27, 2000
On certification to the Superior Court, Appellate Division.
The facts of this case are uncontested. On March 15, 1997, a New Jersey Transit bus driven by Frank Amedio rear-ended Lynne Beauchamp's car as she drove around a traffic circle on Route 130 in Collingswood, Camden County. Approximately two weeks after the accident, on April 1, 1997, Beauchamp visited Dr. Michael Ellin, a chiropractor, complaining of neck, shoulder, and lower back pain, as well as headaches, all of which began at the time of the accident. After the initial visit, Dr. Ellin indicated that the permanency of Beauchamp's injuries was "undetermined."
Beauchamp then contacted an attorney who consulted with Dr. Ellin to ascertain whether Beauchamp's injuries would qualify her for non-economic damages in a suit against the State under the Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 to 59:13-10. On April 8, 1997, the attorney received Dr. Ellin's initial prognosis indicating that the permanency of Beauchamp's injuries was "undetermined." Two weeks later, Beauchamp underwent a second evaluation by Dr. Ellin, with the same prognosis. Based on those two reports, the attorney advised Beauchamp not to file a notice of claim under the Act because her injuries did not appear serious enough to satisfy the permanency requirements necessary to recover non-economic damages. N.J.S.A. 59:9-2(d).
Because her symptoms did not abate, Beauchamp continued to visit Dr. Ellin over the next several months. On September 30, 1997, Dr. Ellin indicated that Beauchamp's condition was "guarded." Based upon that report, her attorney again asked Dr. Ellin whether he believed any of Beauchamp's injuries were permanent.
On October 28, 1997, Dr. Ellin reported to the attorney that Beauchamp's Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) revealed that she had bulging discs in her cervical spine that would "not heal to their original condition." In addition, an Electromyelogram (EMG) indicated "left cervical radiculopathy" (nerve damage to the neck). Based on Dr. Ellin's report, on December 17, 1997, nine months after the accident, the attorney submitted a notice of claim to the State of New Jersey, New Jersey Transit, Camden County, and Collingswood Borough. On the same day, he filed a motion seeking an order permitting a late filing under N.J.S.A. 59:8-9. After some procedural missteps, the trial court denied the motion on the ground that Beauchamp had failed to establish extraordinary circumstances:
The fact that she had increasing severity in her symptomatology or condition, that doesn't and didn't prevent her from initially filing . . . a notice of tort claim within time. It doesn't require her to do anything. It doesn't require her to file any complaint. It's . . . a notice to the State that a claim may be made. For those reasons, the motion is denied.
Beauchamp filed a notice of appeal. The Appellate Division ordered a limited remand to allow her to present a new report from Dr. Ellin that indicated permanent damage. Again, however, the trial court denied the motion and the Appellate Division affirmed in an unreported opinion. Beauchamp filed a petition for certification, which we granted. 162 N.J. 197 (1999). On appeal, she argues that the lower courts erred in refusing to allow her to file a late notice of claim.
I.
In 1972, in response to the judicial abrogation of sovereign immunity in Willis v. Department of Cons. & Econ. Dev., 55 N.J. 534, 540 (1970), the Legislature enacted the Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 to 59:13-10. The overall purpose of the Act was to re-establish the immunity of public entities while coherently ameliorating the harsh res
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