The Senate Judiciary Committee gave the green light to seven nominees for the Superior Court, including four from Essex County where judicial vacancies are the highest. The nominees will be voted on by the full Senate on Monday. The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) has encouraged the Senate and the governor to work together to nominate qualified judges who reflect the rich diversity of New Jersey to meet the ever-growing demands of the courts in light of post-pandemic filings.
According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, the number of judicial vacancies reached 66 at the end November. Despite the pandemic, the courts have been open, holding remote hearings and some in-person hearings toward the end of the year.
“As someone who is involved in court matters and interacts with judges and lawyers every day, I speak with the weight of the largest organization of lawyers in the state, and as a voice for its members, when I say our judges are not just working hard, they are working to absolute capacity fitting in hearings and other duties in early mornings, evenings and weekends to help stem the tide of cases,” NJSBA President Domenick Carmagnola wrote in an editorial last year. He urged a swift resolution to the judicial vacancy crisis because “failing to do so will likely result in damage that could take years to rectify.”
In addition to the four nominees from Essex County, the Senate also nominated three candidates from Burlington, Camden and Morris counties. The NJSBA continues to work closely with legislative leaders, the administration and the Judiciary to address judicial vacancies.
Bill aiming to remedy standing in Wrongful Death and Survivorship Act cases moves
The Senate Judiciary Committee sent S-4251 (Scutari) out of committee. The bill would allow certain individuals not yet appointed as administrator of an estate to pursue a lawsuit for damages for wrongful death on behalf of a deceased’s survivors. The NJSBA supports the bill but will monitor its implementation to ensure that measures will be taken so that the probate process is properly followed for the most qualified person to be appointed.
The bill was drafted following an unpublished decision in Chandler v. Kasper, in which the Appellate Division held that the filer of a survivorship act lawsuit did not have standing because they had not been appointed general administrator of the estate. The filer was advised by the surrogate that they need only be appointed administrator ad prosequendum to file the lawsuit. As a result of the failure to appoint them as a general administrator, the survivorship action was dismissed.
The bill provides the court with the ability to appoint a person as administrator or administrator ad prosequendum even if the person was not yet appointed as such at the time the person filed a lawsuit under the wrongful death or survivorship act actions. Under the proposed legislation, the bill would say that the court could allow the person filing suit to be designated as such with the will annexed and to allow the plaintiff to amend any pleadings relating back to the plaintiff’s first pleading to reflect the designation.
The NJSBA continues to monitor this line of cases to ensure that the probate process moves forward to ensure that the most qualified person is appointed as administrator and administrator ad prosequendum and has asked to work with the sponsors on any follow-up.
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.