PAUL KAMIENSKI VS. STATE OF NEW JERSEY, DEPARTMENT
OF TREASURY
A-4816-14T2
This case presents us with questions of first impression regarding the interpretation of provisions of the Mistaken Imprisonment Act (Act), N.J.S.A. 52:4C-1 to -7, relating to eligibility, the burden of proof, damages and "reasonable attorney fees."
Plaintiff was convicted of two counts of purposeful murder and felony murder and drug conspiracy charges. His murder convictions were vacated after the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit directed that a writ of habeas corpus be issued. His drug conspiracy conviction remained undisturbed. Released after serving more than twenty years in prison, he brought this action under the Act, seeking more than $6,000,000 in damages and $1 million in attorney's fees. After granting summary judgment to plaintiff, the trial court awarded him a judgment of $433,230. We reverse the grant of summary judgment, concluding the federal decision granting plaintiff's habeas corpus petition did not satisfy his burden to establish by clear and convincing evidence "he did not commit the crime for which he was convicted," N.J.S.A. 52:4C-3(b), as a matter of law. We also conclude plaintiff's drug conspiracy conviction does not render him ineligible under N.J.S.A. 52:4C-6. Because a remand is necessary, we also provide guidance to the trial court regarding how damages should be calculated under the Act prior to its 2013 amendment and by concluding the "reasonable attorneys fee"
recoverable under N.J.S.A. 52:4C-5(b) is limited to fees incurred in the civil litigation under the Act.
