Dave are there sufficient assets to compensate your client for her Tevis claims? Are there other acts to toll the statute? Call me to discuss 732-855-6010 or cell 908-358 3023. David wildstein
Don't know yet, but I would assume so. I had a brief consult on the phone with her - referred to me by a friend so I spent a little more time on the phone and via email than I otherwise would have. Here's the email I sent her - does it look accurate / thorough? Did I miss anything? I don't have a response yet, but between the off-list and on-list responses, I've got a few people to point her toward.
XXX:
I'm on the NJ State Bar Association Family Law list, so give me a couple of days. I'll ask there.
It sounds like you understand the difference between a simple domestic tort claim and a Tevis claim. If the assault was over two years ago, you will need to prove, via an expert, that you shouldn't be held to the two-year statute of limitations because you were a battered spouse and thus were too psychologically paralyzed to assert your rights earlier. If the assaults were within the last two years (or if you choose to pursue only those that were), it doesn't involve Tevis. You will occassionally here people refer to any "domestic torts" (here, assault) claim as a "Tevis claim" (I've even heard some judges do it), but that's not really correct - Tevis is only implicated if you're looking to extend the statute of limitations. From experience:
<x-tab> </x-tab>None of this will be cheap.
<x-tab> </x-tab>You will need a psychologist who can be qualifed as an expert witness on battered spouses.
<x-tab> </x-tab>The assaults need to be serious - not just "I was hit", but more along the lines of "I was in the hospital." I've advised more than one person that pursuing a claim didn't appear to be worth the probable cost. Examples of ones I took were a woman whose head was hit into concrete, and a man who was hit with a pot, breaking his eye orbit and causing partial vision loss. It also generally needs to be more than one incident of abuse (unless it was really horrific) -- it's generally got to be a pattern. And you generally need records for an expert to review: medical, psychological. It's not an easy threshold to meet.
<x-tab> </x-tab>I've litigated this a few times. Two of the cases almost went to trial, but after the judge ruling that Tevis applied and that a jury would be impanelled and all assaults considered, it resulted in a settlement -- which is what you want.
<x-tab> </x-tab>Keep in mind that there needs to be something to fight for - i.e., an ability to pay a damages award. You don't want to spend $50,000 or more between lawyers and experts to end up with a judgment you can't collect.
I put a message on the NJSBA list and will look into any responses I get.
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David Perry Davis, Esq.
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www.FamilyLawNJ.pro
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112 West Franklin Avenue
Pennington, NJ 08534
Voice: 609-737-2222
Fax: 609-737-3222
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Original Message------
Dave are there sufficient assets to compensate your client for her Tevis claims? Are there other acts to toll the statute? Call me to discuss 732-855-6010 or cell 908-358 3023. David wildstein
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