What Is A Civil Reservation?

Did You Know That A Moving Violation Can Be Evidence In A Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Many drivers in New Jersey are involved in automobile accidents and receive a ticket for a moving violation such as careless driving (39:4-97), but did you know that if you plead guilty to the offense, or even a downgraded offense, under the doctrine of Negligence Per Se, a rebuttable presumption of negligence may be created? More plainly said, the plaintiff usually must show that:

1. The defendant violated the statute
2. The statute provides for a criminal penalty (i.e., fines or imprisonment) but not by civil penalties
3. The act caused the kind of harm the statute was designed to prevent
4. The plaintiff was a member of the statute’s protected class

Thus, you may be held responsible for personal injuries simply because you were issued a ticket by a police officer, who did not even witness the accident! Even if Negligence Per Se is not an issue, the plea of guilty to a traffic offense can be used as evidence against you in civil court.

For these reasons, a defendant has the choice to plead guilty in municipal court and have it affect the pending civil suit or have a trial. Municipal courts deal with traffic matters, not civil responsibility, and are not the place for trials that are really about civil responsibility.

To alleviate this concern, R. 7:6-2 permits an order that a plea be deemed non-evidentiary. If a civil reservation is granted, your plea of guilty in the municipal court cannot be used against you in civil court proceedings. To obtain the non-evidentiary reservation, a motion must be made after the municipal court trial or hearing by the attorney handling the case. If the victim or their attorney is present and decides to object, a hearing will be held on the issue. Nonetheless, the court presumes to grant the reservation.

It is difficult to know which accident/careless driving case is going to result in a personal injury lawsuit. The statute of limitations is two years for a personal injury action. By the time a suit may emerge, the municipal court matter could have been long decided. In fact, the failure to obtain a civil reservation may make a case easier for a plaintiff and thus a lawsuit more likely. A few questions to be considered when deciding whether a ticket should be contested so that a civil reservation can be sought:

1. Was the accident a fender bender or was there significant damage?
2. Was there an air bag deployment?
3. Was either driver taken to the hospital?