07-08-11 700 HIGHWAY 33 LLC VS. JOSEPH POLLIO, ET AL. A-1889-10T3
In this appeal, we reverse the trial court's summary judgment dismissal of the complaint based on the party joinder rule (R. 4:5-1 (b)(2)) of the entire controversy doctrine. We hold that a trial court may not rely upon its experience with construction claims in determining whether successive actions are based on the same transactional facts, but instead must rely upon a competent motion record. We also provide an analytical framework for deciding entire cobased on non-joinder of parties.
