CEPA waiver provision precludes comparable common law claims, and dismissal of non-CEPA claims must take place before commencement of trial.

The plaintiff filed suit against her former employer and alleged that she was terminated for objecting to their fraudulent billing practices. The plaintiff asserted claims under the New Jersey Whistleblower statute (CEPA) and under the common law premised upon an assertion of a violation of New Jersey public policy. The trial court dismissed the common law claim based upon a finding that they were subsumed within the CEPA claim. Further, the court rejected the plaintiff's assertion that the proper time for dismissal was following the presentation of the case to the jury and before a verdict was returned. The plaintiff sought to "elect" which claims she wanted to pursue once she saw how the trial evidence was received. The court found that no such "election right" existed under the statute.

Case Law Alert - 4th Qtr 2011