Brehme v. Irwin

• Docket Number: A-3760-21
• Decision Date: 27 December 2023
• Parties: LINDA B. BREHME, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. THOMAS IRWIN, Defendant-Respondent, and NEW JERSEY MANUFACTURERS INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant.
• Court: New Jersey Superior Court — Appellate Division

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LINDA B. BREHME, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
THOMAS IRWIN, Defendant-Respondent,

and NEW JERSEY MANUFACTURERS INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant.

No. A-3760-21

Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division

December 27, 2023

This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

Submitted December 12, 2023

On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Bergen County, Docket No. L-7134-18.

Clark Law Firm, PC, attorneys for appellant (Gerald Hayes Clark and Lazaro Berenguer, of counsel and on the briefs).

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Foster & Mazzie, LLC, attorneys for respondent (Carl A. Mazzie, of counsel and on the brief).

Before Judges Whipple, Mayer and Enright.

PER CURIAM

Plaintiff Linda D. Brehme appeals from a June 27, 2022 in limine ruling by the trial judge barring her claim for future medical expenses. Because plaintiff filed a warrant to satisfy judgment under Rule 4:48-1, we dismiss the appeal as moot.

We limit our recitation of the facts relevant to the issue raised on appeal. Plaintiff sued defendants for personal injuries resulting from an automobile accident that occurred in December 2016.

After completion of discovery, the matter proceeded to trial. On the first day of trial, the judge entertained an in limine motion by defendant to bar plaintiff's claim for future medical expenses. Because the judge determined plaintiff's personal injury protection (PIP) coverage under her own automobile insurance policy was not exhausted, the judge barred as speculative any claim by plaintiff for future medical expenses.

The matter was tried before a jury over five days. At the conclusion of the testimony, the jury found plaintiff sustained a permanent injury as a result of the December 2016 car accident. The jury awarded plaintiff the sum of $225,000 for pain and suffering and $50,000 for lost wages. After calculating

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interest and costs, the judge entered a July 7, 2022 judgment in favor of plaintiff in the amount of $311,435.59. On July 18, 2022, plaintiff's counsel signed a warrant to satisfy judgment. Nothing in that document indicated plaintiff's intent to appeal the judge's in limine ruling denying her claim for future medical expenses. On August 8, 2022, the signed warrant to satisfy judgment was entered on the trial court's docket. Plaintiff filed her notice of appeal on August 12, 2022.

On appeal, plaintiff argues the judge erred in denying her claim for future medical expenses. She seeks a new trial limited to this issue. Plaintiff further asserts she is not precluded from proceeding with her appeal, notwithstanding the warrant to satisfy...