JOHN SEALS AND JULIA SEALS v. COUNTY OF MORRIS, ET AL. A-5433-08T3/A-0475-09T3 (consolidated) 11-24-10
In these appeals, we considered the liability of a utility company and the County of Morris for injuries sustained by a motorist whose vehicle struck a utility pole after veering off a county road. The motion judge denied summary judgment, concluding that the Court's decision in Contey v. New Jersey Bell Telephone Co., 136 N.J. 582 (1984), did not apply to the utility company under the particular facts of the case and, as to the County, the immunity provisions of the Tort Claims Act did not apply. The judge reasoned that liability on the part of both defendants must be resolved by applying ordinary negligence principles and disputed factual issues precluded the grant of summary judgment.
We reversed the denial of summary judgment to the utility company, finding that under Contey and N.J.S.A. 48:3-17.1, it owed no legal duty to plaintiff. We vacated the denial of summary judgment to the County and remanded for further proceedings. We concluded the arguments that the County may be liable for or immune from plaintiff's claim have not been sufficiently developed. We affirmed the denial of summary judgment to plaintiff.
