BY DAVID M. ZIMMER
Township officials have thrown their weight behind proposed state legislation that would cap awards for attorneys successful in cases against public entities.
New Jersey Senate Bill 2404 (S-2404), introduced Nov. 15, 2010, is designed to reduce the appeal of filing litigation, with marginal bearing, against government entities. As it stands, taxpayer dollars collected to fund municipal services are being increasingly directed toward legal fees.
According to a fall 2010 report from the Municipal Excess Liability (MEL) Joint Insurance Fund, employment practice liability costs reached $354 per employee in 2010 ? up from $26 in 2000 and $202 in 2008. That cost rises to $740 per employee when considering police officers exclusively. Police litigation totaled 65 percent ? and more than 70 percent of the cost ? of the claims reviewed in the study.
One of the 19 local joint insurance funds reviewed in the MEL study was the Morris County Joint Insurance Fund, which is utilized by West Milford?s local government.
A resolution supporting the bill, unanimously approved by the Township Council last month, noted that current statutes regarding employment practice liability suits, generally stemming from claims of discrimination or injury, require public entities to cover all legal fees for plaintiffs awarded any damages at all, even unquantifiable ones.
Township Attorney Fred Semrau said this provision, a common practice known as "fee-shifting," allowed a state court to award fees totaling $430,000 for an attorney-professed $3 million case, which only resulted in a $17,500 award for the plaintiff.
That example of inequity in awards ? partially stemming from inflated claims of settlement value ? has caused local officials to support the proposed cap, which would limit fee awards to $50,000 when the combined compensatory and punitive damages total $50,000 or less. For awards totaling more than $50,000, S-2404, sponsored by state Senator Sean T. Kean (R-11), would prevent attorney fees from exceeding the damages.
These caps, according to Semrau, would save the MEL millions of dollars.
Still, Councilman Daniel Jurkovic, recently named a New Jersey Super Lawyer for 2011 by the similarly named magazine, said the caps ? while a commendable step in the right direction ? are simply not strict enough.
Attorneys who win damage claims stemming from liability complaints, such as personal injury cases, are typically only permitted to obtain fees totaling one-third of the award plus expenses, he noted.
The proposed cap "flies in the face of other attorney rules," Jurkovic said, later calling it a "joke" that does not eliminate the incentive for attorneys to pursue these cases.
The State Assembly version of S-2404, sponsored by Caroline Casagrande (R-12), was introduced on May 9. Both versions of the bill have been referred to their respective judiciary committee where they remain. In addition to West Milford, other area governments, including Stanhope, Lumberton and South Harrison, are backing the bill in an effort to quell the rise in budget-busting cases against public entities.
E-mail: zimmer@northjersey.com
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