Superior Court and Division of WC have concurrent jurisdiction to resolve a dispute of a worker’s employment status when plaintiff files a complaint only in the Superior Court.

The decedent was hired to live with the defendant to care for him and was paid in cash. While waiting on a sidewalk while the defendant parked his car, the defendant accidentally struck the decedent, killing her. The estate filed a wrongful death action against the defendant in Superior Court. The defendant asserted an affirmative defense of lack of subject matter jurisdiction, contending the decedent was his employee and that exclusive jurisdiction was with the Division of Workers’ Compensation. The defendant also filed a motion to transfer the case to the Division. The judge denied the decedent’s motion as there was no claim pending in the Division and the limitations period had expired. The defendant moved for reconsideration, having obtained a certification from his homeowner’s insurance carrier conceding compensability of the decedent’s accident and agreeing not to raise a limitations defense were the matter to be transferred to the Division. The court again denied the decedent’s motion.

At trial, the jury determined that the decedent was an independent contractor and awarded her estate damages for both pain and suffering and wrongful death. An appeal ensued. The Appellate Division reversed the judgment on liability only and remanded the matter to the Division for a determination of the decedent’s employment status. The Division was instructed to thereafter transfer the matter to the Law Division, which shall, in accordance with the Division’s determination, either reinstate the judgment in favor of the decedent’s estate or dismiss the matter with prejudice.

The New Jersey Supreme Court granted the plaintiff’s petition for certification and concluded that the Superior Court had jurisdiction to decide the question of the decedent’s employment status and, accordingly, reversed the judgment of the Appellate Division and reinstated the jury’s verdict.

_{Case Law Alerts, 4^th Quarter, October 2015}

_{Case Law Alerts is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2015 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.}