Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 2A:15-5.2

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal property: includes goods and chattels, rights and credits, moneys and effects, evidences of debt, choses in action and all written instruments by which any right to, interest in, or lien or encumbrance upon, property or any debt or financial obligation is created, acknowledged, evidenced, transferred, discharged or defeated, in whole or in part, and everything except real property as herein defined which may be the subject of ownership. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
2. a. In all negligence actions and strict liability actions in which the question of liability is in dispute, including actions in which any person seeks to recover damages from a social host as defined in section 1 of P.L.1987, c.404 (C. 2A:15-5.5) for negligence resulting in injury to the person or to real or personal property, the trier of fact shall make the following as findings of fact:

(1) The amount of damages which would be recoverable by the injured party regardless of any consideration of negligence or fault, that is, the full value of the injured party’s damages.

(2) The extent, in the form of a percentage, of each party’s negligence or fault. The percentage of negligence or fault of each party shall be based on 100% and the total of all percentages of negligence or fault of all the parties to a suit shall be 100%.

b. In an action in which a person seeks to recover damages from a social host for negligence resulting in injury to the person or to real or personal property, the negligence of any person in becoming intoxicated shall be considered by the trier of fact, and the trier of fact shall allocate a percentage of negligence to that person.

c. As used in this section:

(1) “Negligence actions” includes, but is not limited to, civil actions for damages based upon theories of negligence, products liability, professional malpractice whether couched in terms of contract or tort and like theories. In determining whether a case falls within the term “negligence actions,” the court shall look to the substance of the action and not the conclusory terms used by the parties.

(2) “Strict liability actions” includes, but is not limited to, civil actions for damages based upon theories of strict liability, products liability, breach of warranty and like theories. In determining whether a case falls within the term “strict liability actions,” the court shall look to the substance of the action and not the conclusory terms used by the parties.

d. The judge shall mold the judgment from the findings of fact made by the trier of fact.

L.1973,c.146,s.2; amended 1987,c.325,s.1; 1987,c.404,s.4; 1995,c.140,s.1.

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