NEWARK, N.J. (Legal Newsline) – A county judge needs to better explore whether to let a mother sue over the accidental death of her son during an apparent police chase.
The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled Sept. 11 that the judge handling Lorraine King’s lawsuit should do more than simply granting her leave to file a late notice of claim under the Tort Claims Act against Hudson County and its sheriff’s department.
King’s son Umar was killed in 2018 while standing at a bus stop in Jersey City. He was apparently struck by a car that had been hit by a fleeing suspect. King says she was told it was part of a high-speed chase involving Jersey City officers.
She sued JCPD and filed an open records request with the wrong Hudson County agency. Her lawyer was told to contact the Hudson County prosecutor for the records requested.
King said she read an “old newspaper article” about the accident that led to her wanting to sue Hudson County. Her lawyer filed for permission to file.
He did so in two separate motions in two separate docket numbers. Hudson County’s opposition was filed in one but the leave issue was decided in the other, with the judge determining there was no opposition to it.
“The paucity of detail prevents the Law Division judge from fairly ruling on the papers,” the Appellate Division ruled.
“Ordinarily, a cause of action with a disputed accrual date will, particularly in those cases requiring credibility determinations, call for an evidential hearing. This is such a case.
“The reasonableness of the belated discovery, under well-established precedent, requires close scrutiny.”