 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Barbera v. Martino12/4/1997
The opinion of the court was delivered by
CONLEY, J.A.D.
Plaintiff, a former Assistant Trial Court Administrator (ATCA) in Camden County, appeals a jury verdict in favor of the State defendants on his Law Against Discrimination (LAD) failure to hire/rehire claim. He also appeals various summary judgments and related orders in favor of the State defendants on his LAD termination claim, wrongful discharge and other related claims, including the dismissal of his claims as to the individually named State defendants and his claim for punitive damages. We affirm.
I
Plaintiff first became an ATCA in 1980 and, prior to April 6, 1987, served not only without adverse incident, but well. On April 6, 1987, plaintiff assaulted his supervisor, Dollie Gallagher, in the Camden County courthouse, where he and his supervisor worked.
The incident, later diagnosed by plaintiff's doctors as the product of a temporary psychotic episode, was described by several witnesses in their reports to the then Camden County Assignment Judge, Judge DiMartino, as follows:
1) Report of Rosemarie Bregatta:
The next thing I heard was Tom rushing from Dolly's office and ranting that Dolly was the devil and he had to kill her . . . At this point Dolly started out the door to the private corridor. He ran after her and I ran after him. Dolly was on the floor and Tom was hitting her . . . next thing I knew Nick Carungo and Rick Mroz were holding onto Tom along with Lil and I.
2) Report of Anna Bonn:
Dolly came out of her office a short time later and was walking toward the front of our office when Tom came out yelling to her that she was the devil and yelling to us that she was the devil. He said he was going to have to kill her and he said I am going to throw you out the window. Dolly continued around the office . . . with Tom following her and as he went by touching Rosemarie on the shoulder and he told her she was the devil, touched me on the shoulder and said I was the devil, touched Elaine on the shoulder and told her she was the devil . . . we heard a thud and we ran out, saw Dollie laying on the floor and he was beating her. We ran out and tried to stop him and he was yelling she was the devil and he had to kill her and that he was Jesus Christ.
3) Report of Nicholas Carungo:
I was working in my office . . . when I thought I heard a woman scream. I went to ask my secretary if she heard anything and we heard more screams. I then opened the office door and saw Thomas Barbera kicking and punching Dolly Gallagher. Several other people were trying to restrain him.
4) Report of Dorothy Wall:
I heard a man's voice hollering "I have to kill you, you're the devil." I looked out of the glass partition beside the door and saw Tom Barbera surrounded by TCA's staff trying to restrain him
The victim, too, submitted a report in which she explained:
I had gone only fifteen or so feet when I heard the door open and Tab [plaintiff] came out of the office shouting that he was going to kill me. I turned to see him as he shouted this. The next thing I remember, I was on the floor, apparently coming back to consciousness (the same type of feeling that I have had when I had fainted) and I could not see anything, but I could hear distant female voices shouting for me to get up, to get away (or perhaps for Tab to get away). I tried to move my legs but they felt numb (pins and needles feeling). I remember being hit once on each side of my face at this time. I then saw Rick Moroz running down the hall toward me. The next thing I remember is being helped up off the fl
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 New Jersey Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|