JUAN J. BARRON VS. SHELLEY GERSTEN, ET AL. (L-2081-20, UNION COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (A-0912-20)
Plaintiff's complaint about a June 21, 2018 automobile accident was filed on June 29, 2020. Defendants moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to commence the action timely, citing the two-year statute of limitations set forth in N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2(a). In opposition, plaintiff contended the complaint was timely filed, asserting the Supreme Court had tolled the statute of limitations in its June 11, 2020 Fourth Omnibus Order related to the COVID-19 pandemic and effectively had added fifty-five days to the statute-of-limitations period. The trial court granted defendants' motion, finding the Supreme Court in its Omnibus Orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic had not added time to the statute of limitations but had deemed the period of time from March 16, 2020, to May 10, 2020, a legal holiday for purposes of computing time.
The court agreed with the trial court, finding the Supreme Court had issued an order on March 17, 2020, in which the Court cited its constitutional rule-making authority under Article VI, section 2, paragraph 3 of the New Jersey Constitution to deem the relevant time period a legal holiday. Noting the express language in the Fourth Omnibus Order "affirm[ing] the provisions of [its] prior orders" and that the Supreme Court had not cited any new or different authority for its directive regarding the computation of time, the court concluded the Supreme Court in the Fourth Omnibus Order was exercising its constitutional rule-making authority to deem March 16, 2020, through May 10, 2020, a legal holiday and was not adding time to the statute of limitations.
