ANSELL, GRIMM & AARON attorney Anthony J. D’Artiglio, Esq. obtained dismissal of a putative class action upon the Middlesex County Court’s granting of a pre-discovery motion for summary judgment. The case, Walker v. DeFalco Heavy Duty Towing and Recovery, LLC, Docket MID-L-2145-16, concerned claims under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act that our client, DeFalco, charged towing rates higher than permitted by municipal ordinance.
The Court resoundingly rejected plaintiff’s dream of a monetary windfall predicated on significant statutory damages finding that he had no standing to sue in the first instance. Specifically, the Court held that because plaintiff’s insurance company – and not plaintiff – paid the towing charges and received the refund for overpayment plaintiff did not suffer an ascertainable loss which would give him standing to sue under the Consumer Fraud Act, the Predatory Towing Prevention Act incorporated therein, or the Truth in Consumer Contract, Warranty, and Notice Act. By obtaining a pre-discovery dismissal, ANSELL, GRIMM & AARON saved DeFalco’s significant time and expense defending plaintiff’s challenge to his own insurance company’s reasonable and expedient resolution of the matter.
ANSELL, GRIMM & AARON attorneys regularly engage in class action defense arising from frivolous claims and seek to obtain a similarly quick and cost-effective result for our clients. Of course, some matters do have merit, in which case our attorneys work to narrow the claims toward minimizing damages and obtaining a favorable settlement.
For additional information on ANSELL, GRIMM & AARON’s class action defense practice, please contact Joshua S. Bauchner, Esq. (jb@62q.f7d.myftpupload.com) or Anthony D’Artiglio, Esq. (ajd@62q.f7d.myftpupload.com) at (973) 247-9000.
