New Jersey
New Jersey’s lawmakers landed the state on the “Heat Watch” list due to a routinely pro-plaintiff agenda pursued by the legislature.
In November 2023, New Jersey held statewide elections for its entire legislature. The composition of the state senate remains 25D-15R after the
elections. Moreover, Democrats gained five (5) seats in the General Assembly, giving them a 51D-29R advantage over their Republican counterparts there. Accordingly, New Jersey’s Legislature remains under firm Democratic control.
New Jersey’s Senate President, Democratic Senator Nicholas Scutari, will continue to direct the Senate’s agenda for at least the next two years, having been reelected to the Senate Presidency by his caucus. The Senate Presidency is the second most powerful position in New Jersey state government after the Governorship. Senator Scutari is a practicing plaintiffs’ personal injury attorney, who previously chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Scutari’s legislative agenda has always been pro-plaintiff, and he is resistant to compromise on civil justice reform. Additionally, Republican Senator Jon Bramnick is also a plaintiffs’ attorney whose priorities often align with those of the plaintiffs’ bar. These lawmakers will continue to hinder the movement of civil justice reform priorities through the legislative process.
Considering this backdrop alongside the plaintiffs’ bar’s substantial campaign contributions to both sides of the political aisle in New Jersey, civil justice reform advocates are forced into an entirely defensive posture to ensure that liability expanding legislation is not adopted.
S.B. 1475: Sponsored by Sen. John McKeon (D)
A.B. 1931: Sponsored by Asm. Ellen Park (D)
S.C.R. 43: Sponsored by Sen. Linda Greenstein (D)
2024 Legislative Session Adjournment:
December 31, 2024
Economic Impacts
of excessive tort costs
in New Jersey annually
Tort Tax
$1,757
Per Person
149,241
jobs
lost
$16,275.9
Million
GDP Loss
25
SENATE
15
52
HOUSE
28
2023-2024: Judicial Hellholes® Watch List
2023-2023: Judicial Hellholes® Watch List
2020-2021: Judicial Hellholes® Watch List
HISTORY
2019-2020: No. 10 Judicial Hellhole®
- New Jersey Legislature
2018-2019: No. 7 Judicial Hellhole®
- New Jersey Legislature
2017-2018: No. 6 Judicial Hellhole®
2016-2017: No. 5 Judicial Hellhole®
2015-2016: Judicial Hellholes® Watch List
Consumer Legal Funding Act
Primary Sponsors
Sen. John McKeon (D)
Asm. Ellen Park (D)
The “Consumer Legal Funding Act” (“S1475/A1931”) was reintroduced in the New Jersey Legislature this year at the start of the current legislative session. By way of background, this bill seeks to regulate third-party litigation funding arrangements in which funders provide spending money directly to cash-strapped plaintiffs on the condition that they return the money along with interest and fees if they prevail in a particular lawsuit.
Among other things, the bill sets restrictions on funders’ ability to pay or accept referral fees; forbids the use of funds to pay plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees; prohibits funders from participating in case strategy or settlement discussions; and caps interest at 40% per annum.
Last legislative session, in response to the insurance industry and legal reform advocates, the bill’s sponsor amended it to include a rebuttable presumption of discoverability of consumer legal funding arrangements. The amended bill was voted out of committee and referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee. There, the bill stalled due to an impasse in negotiations between the funders and consumer advocates regarding the bill's interest rate cap.
This bill would be a positive reform for New Jersey’s civil justice system but unfortunately is being held back by the plaintiffs’ bar.
Primary Sponsors
Sen. Linda Greenstein (D)
Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D)
The Green Amendment
Environmental justice advocates are pushing a proposed “Green Amendment” in New Jersey, which seeks to create a self-executing, state constitutional right to a “clean and healthy environment.” This would effectively enable private litigants to target industry by bringing claims against the State of New Jersey under the New Jersey Civil Rights Act (“NJCRA”) to enforce this nebulous right, and thus, upend the current regulatory regime. That is, any private litigant who disagrees with the priorities set by the Legislature and standards developed by agency experts could bring a claim in court to enjoin the State. Given that prevailing parties to NJCRA claims are entitled to not only injunctive relief, but also money damages, civil penalties, and attorneys’ fees, strong incentives exist to encourage plaintiffs and attorneys to file Green Amendment claims.
“The Green Amendment is a litigation vehicle masquerading as an environmental protection measure. Its potential to generate rampant litigation by allowing claims over any perceived lack of environmental regulation is deeply troubling for New Jersey businesses.”
-ATRA President Tiger Joyce
In addition to granting private litigants the power to challenge the merits of environmental regulations, litigants may use the Green Amendment to force the state to affirmatively regulate business activities that conflict with their amorphous right to a clean environment. That is, even after studied deliberation and policymaking, if the legislature and executive agencies elected not to act concerning certain business activities, litigants could assert NJCRA claims against the state on the basis that its inaction harmed the litigants’ Green Amendment rights.
The Green Amendment's inherent potential for generating widespread lawsuit abuse is concerning for all businesses operating in New Jersey. Despite pushback by industry, the Green Amendment was voted out of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee on March 15, 2024, with amendments, and referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. The changes to the Green Amendment ostensibly address industry concerns, but the fundamental problems with it, outlined above, remain.
