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Guy v. Petty11/9/1993
MANNION, J.S.C.
This automobile accident case comes to the court on cross-motions for summary judgment. The suit arose from a car accident that occurred in Edison Township on July 21, 1990, the facts of which are not relevant for purposes of these motions.
Defendants Poopa and Piyush Shah ("Defendants") filed their motion against the minor plaintiffs Laurel Guy ("Laurel") and Tonya Guy ("Tonya"), who were passengers in their mother's car. The Shahs' motion asserts that the two minor plaintiffs have failed to meet the verbal threshold pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8a and to the Supreme Court's opinion in Oswin v. Shaw, 129 N.J. 290, 609 A.2d 415 (1992).
The plaintiffs cross-moved for an order declaring N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8 unconstitutional on the grounds that it denies equal protection and the right to trial by jury to the "economically disadvantaged." The Attorney General's office was notified that the statute was being challenged on constitutional grounds, but it declined to participate in this motion.
The court will first address plaintiffs' constitutional arguments. Then, because the court rejects those arguments, the court will address Defendants' summary judgment motion.
I. The Verbal Threshold Statute Does Not Deny Any Constitutional Rights to Low-Income Insureds
In a nutshell, plaintiffs assert that they (and other similarly-situated low-income people) cannot afford to pay the higher premium for the "no-threshold" tort option, which gives auto accident claimants the unrestricted right to sue for noneconomic damages. Instead, they argue, they are forced financially to choose the "verbal threshold" tort option, which prohibits them from suing for anything other than major injuries. On the other hand, they argue, those with the financial means can afford to pay the higher premium for no-threshold, thus retaining the unrestricted right to sue. Therefore, plaintiffs argue that the verbal threshold statute violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the, equal protection guarantee embodied in the New Jersey Constitution.
Further, plaintiffs assert that the statute denies them the fundamental right to trial by jury guaranteed by the New Jersey Constitution. They contend that the statute impermissibly forced plaintiffs, unable to afford the higher no-threshold premium, "to unwillingly and involuntarily forfeit their right to trial by jury."
The court notes that plaintiffs' trial by jury argument implicitly encompasses an alleged denial of access to the courts. The court will treat the two together.
N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8 (the "verbal threshold statute" or the "statute") is one section of the New Jersey Automobile Reparation Reform Act (the "No-Fault Act"), which was first enacted in 1972 and subsequently amended several times. N.J.S.A. 39:6A-1 to -35. The Act as a whole requires prompt payment of "personal injury protection" (PIP) expenses to automobile accident victims without regard to fault, and without having to await the outcome of protracted litigation. See Hoglin v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 144 N.J. Super. 475, 479-80, 366 A.2d 345 (App. Div. 1976). PIP payments include: medical expenses, lost wages, essential services, survivor benefits, and funeral expenses. N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.
The tort exemption section, N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8, gives the insured two choices for suing for noneconomic loss in the event of an auto-related injury. The "verbal threshold" option prohibits the insured from suing for pain and suffering, unless he or she has sustained a serious injury
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