TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – A New Jersey rooming house won’t be held liable for a murder committed by one of its residents who had just been released from prison.
On June 17, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court ruled for Pleasant Point Properties in its fight with the Estate of Frank A. Campagna, a man who was stabbed to death while staying at its rooming house.
The estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company, arguing it had a legal duty to conduct criminal background checks to ensure the safety of its residents.
“Although the facts of this case are surely tragic, the existing law does not provide a basis for the litigation to proceed,” the ruling says.
“Put simply, if there is no duty, there is no case.”
In 2015, Anthony Strong submitted an application to live at the rooming house, where he had routinely visited another resident in the six months prior.
On Oct. 7, 2015, Strong stabbed Campagna to death in Campagna’s room, telling police that it was a matter of self-defense. Campagna had attacked him first, he said, while the two were drinking vodka and watching football.
Strong had gone to Campagna’s birthday party the day before, but the testimony of one resident said the two “didn’t see eye-to-eye” and suspected that Strong had slashed Campagna’s bike tires.
Before moving in, Strong served a five-year prison term for pleading guilty to beating and robbing an 80-year-old man in a bathroom at a casino in Atlantic City.
Strong stabbed Campagna 90 times and was sentenced to 30 years without parole. He called Campagna an asshole during sentencing.
But, despite presenting an expert witness who claims it is standard practice to conduct background checks on applicants, the rooming house can’t be blamed for letting Strong move in, the appeals court ruled.