AAJ Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Protect Access to Justice for Transit Victims Injured Out-of-State

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Association for Justice (AAJ) filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Cedric Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corp. and New Jersey Transit Corp. v. Colt and Tsai urging the Court to reject New Jersey Transit’s attempt to avoid accountability for injuries it causes outside New Jersey’s borders.
 
Both the Cedric Galette case in Pennsylvania and the Colt/Tsai case in New York involve serious injuries caused by New Jersey Transit buses. The Supreme Court must now determine whether to accept New Jersey Transit’s argument that it is an "arm of the state," and therefore immune from legal responsibility in other states’ courts. In its amicus filing, AAJ warns that granting such immunity would erode the equal dignity of sovereign states and deny innocent victims any path to justice.
 
"Sovereign immunity was never intended to be weaponized by state-created entities to evade responsibility when they hurt people," said AAJ President Bruce Plaxen. "Deeming NJ Transit to be an arm of the state would deprive victims injured in out-of-state accidents the opportunity to seek the justice they deserve."
 
If New Jersey Transit is treated as an arm of the state, victims injured outside New Jersey cannot sue in the state where the accident occurred, and New Jersey’s venue rules bar them from suing in New Jersey as well. This "absurd result," AAJ notes, would deny injured individuals any legal remedy at all, contradicting centuries of common-law tradition and foundational constitutional principles.   ###  The  American Association for Justice  works to safeguard rights, promote fairness, and strengthen access to civil justice—even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations.  AAJ’s vision is justice for all. 

CONTACT Heather K. Sager Email: Heather.Sager@justice.org Phone: (202) 579-1205