Immediate Past President Thomas H. Prol stood before a three-judge Appellate Division panel in Newark on Wednesday to say the Moreland v. Parks case deserves the opportunity to go to a jury.
"This is about access to justice," said Prol. "This is a fundamentally important case."
The case centers on the domestic partner of the mother of a child who was killed in an accident, and is making a so-called Portee v. Jaffee claim for emotional distress.
In 2009, a child was hit by a car that was struck by a fire truck attempting to make a U-turn as the family was on the way to see a "Disney on Ice" show. The biological mother, sibling and domestic partner of the mother witnessed it. The trial court denied the claim because the domestic partner was not the biological parent, even though the child called her "mom."
The definition of what a jury considers a family should be expansive and holistic, the New Jersey State Bar Association argued.
Read our earlier coverage of the case here. And NJ.com coverage here. To read the full NJSBA brief, visit here.