The Supreme Court Year in Review analyzed the most consequential criminal, family and civil cases from the past year.
The seminar, a staple of the New Jersey State bar Association’s Annual Meeting and Convention, brought together six judges from across the state to discuss rulings that serve as critical case law for the lower courts to follow. Retired Assignment Judge Peter F. Bariso moderated the panel that included state Supreme Court Justices, Anne M. Patterson, Lee A. Solomon and Fabiana Pierre-Louis, along with Middlesex County Family Part Presiding Judge Deborah Venezia and Burlington County Assignment Judge Jeanne T. Covert.
Patterson discussed Dennehy v. East Windsor Regional Board of Education, a case involving a high school field hockey player who was injured on one of the school’s shared athletic fields. During a practice in September 2015, the girl was struck in the head by a soccer ball that had flown over from the adjacent field. The girl later sued the school district, claiming permanent injuries.
The Court was tasked with deciding whether a negligence standard or a recklessness standard applied when a person involved in a sports activity files a lawsuit. In its decision, the Court held that the negligence standard applied, the same standard for students injured on a field trip. The ruling stated that “parents have the right to expect that teachers and coaches will exercise reasonable care when in charge of their children and that courts will not immunize a teacher’s negligence.”
Other cases covered during the wide-ranging discussion included: