ESTATE OF MICAH SAMUEL TENNANT DUNMORE VS. PLEASANTVILLE BOARD OF EDUCATION ANGELA TENNANT VS. PLEASANTVILLE BOARD OF EDUCATION, ET AL. (L-0889-20 and L-0901-20, ATLANTIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (CONSOLIDATED) - Published

In these matters arising out of the tragic shooting of a minor during a football game and his subsequent death several days later, the court considered whether the time for a minor's parent to file a notice of tort claim for her Portee¹ claim is tolled under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act (TCA), N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 to 59:12-3. In reading in pari materia N.J.S.A. 59:8-8, which extends the statute of limitations for an injured minor to institute a cause of action until two years after their eighteenth birthday, and N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2, which tolls a parent's claim for the duration of the child's tolling period, and because the parent's Portee claim essentially includes the elements of the minor's claim, the court concludes it is only logical to toll the notice requirements under the TCA for the parent's Portee claim to coincide with the tolling period of the minor's claim. The court's ruling is consistent with the purposes underlying the entire controversy doctrine and in promoting judicial economy.

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¹ Portee v. Jaffee, 84 N.J. 88 (1980).