Senate passes bill mandating disclosure of policy limits
Last week, the Senate passed a bill that would require automobile insurers to disclose policy limits upon a request by an attorney under certain circumstances. S-1558 (Scutari)/A-3444 (Bramnick) provides that an insurer who receives a request from an attorney for disclosure of policy limits under a private passenger auto insurance policy shall provide written disclosure of the policy limits to the attorney within 30 days from receipt of the request. The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) supported the legislation with amendments that were made to the bill.
The NJSBA requested that there be confirmation that nothing in the bill would constitute a waiver or would stop an insurer from raising any coverage issue or asserting any coverage defense, including a requirement that the insured receive notice from the insurer that a request was made for disclosure of the policy limits, and that the limits would be disclosed to all insurers that may be involved, in order to facilitate the coordination of coverage.
The bill remains pending in the Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee. The NJSBA continues to monitor this bill.
Five vicinages to begin virtual civil jury trials
Five vicinages will kick off the Supreme Court’s two-phased approach to roll out virtual civil jury trials beginning in February. The approved plan for conducting the trials takes into account the suggestions raised from a number of stakeholders, including the NJSBA.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Judiciary has been committed to provide a forum for the fair adjudication of disputes and to safeguard public health,” said the Supreme Court in its Jan. 7 order. The order outlines a procedure for conducting virtual civil jury trials, which will take place with consent in the first phase and without consent in the second phase. The second phase opens up virtual civil jury trials to the rest of the vicinages beginning in April.
The NJSBA convened its Pandemic Task Force Committee on the Resumption of Jury Trials, which issued a report containing a series of recommendations to provide transparency and clarity in the process. The report was issued in Nov. 2020, and examined a number of issues, including jury selection, the presentation of evidence, and security and privacy in the trial process.
In addition to the Supreme Court order, Directive #02-21 implements Section 5(e) of the order by promulgating additional guidance to judges presiding over the trials. The directive addresses documents, images, pictures, audio recordings, and video recordings.
The notice to the bar containing the full order and directive can be found at njcourts.gov. A copy of the NJSBA’s recommendations can be found at njsba.com.
This is a status report provided by the New Jersey State Bar Association on recently passed and pending legislation, regulations, gubernatorial nominations and/or appointments of interest to lawyers, as well as the involvement of the NJSBA as amicus in appellate court matters. To learn more, visit njsba.com.