Plaintiffs, who commenced an
action under the statute, alleged in detail their involvement in their granddaughter’s
life from birth and contended that their alienation from the child will cause
her harm. Based on these allegations, plaintiffs established a prima facie
showing of harm to the child at the pleading stage, as required by Moriarty v.
Bradt, 177 N.J. 84 (2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1177 (2004). The trial court
should have denied defendant’s motion to dismiss and given plaintiffs the
opportunity to satisfy their burden of proving harm. Procedural guidelines are
now established for proceedings under the statute.
