02-20-08 A-1279-06T1
We reviewed in detail the choice-of-law principles
applicable to vehicular accidents that have connections to both
New Jersey and New York. The primary act of negligence occurred
in New York, when a New York truck driver failed to properly
secure a Hapag-Lloyd (H-L) container to a chassis attached to
his tractor-trailer, before setting out from a Staten Island
terminal to deliver H-L's container to the Bronx. The driver
traveled through New Jersey to avoid New York traffic, and the
accident occurred when the container fell off the truck in North
Jersey, a few miles from the New York-New Jersey border. The
accident severely injured a New York employee heading toward his
New Jersey home after leaving work in upper Manhattan.
We concluded that New York's interest in fully compensating
accident victims and promoting traffic safety predominated over
New Jersey's interest in limiting the liability of non-negligent
vehicle owners, and mandated application of New York's law
imposing vicarious liability on a vehicle owner (including, as
here, the owner of a component of a tractor-trailer) for the
negligence of the vehicle's driver.
