On October 24, Javerbaum Wurgaft Managing Partner Eric G. Kahn, argued a case before the New Jersey Supreme Court as amicus on behalf of the New Jersey Association of Justice in W.S. v. Lawrence Township School District. Annabelle M. Steinhacker, also of Javerbaum Wurgaft, wrote the brief.
The issue presented was whether the amendments to the Tort Claim Act effective December 1, 2019, eliminating the need to file a Tort Claim Notice for claims brought under the Child Sexual Abuse Act, apply retroactively to claims that accrued prior to the enactment of the amendments. If the answer is no, this would severely limit access to our Courts for victims of childhood sexual abuse that occurred before December 1, 2019. This is contrary to the rationale behind the amendments because the express intent of the amendments was to allow claims to be brought, within a 2 year window, that were previously time barred.
The Appellate Division held that the amendments to the Statute eliminated the need to file a Tort Claim Notice for claims that previously accrued and were otherwise time barred prior to December 1, 2019. Mr. Kahn argued that the Appellate Decision should be upheld.
This is Mr. Kahn’s 7th oral argument before the New Jersey Supreme Court and his 4th as amicus to NJAJ. Ms. Steinhacker has been involved in all 4 amicus cases with Mr. Kahn.
