The Court reverses the grant of summary judgment to defendants and remands the matter for further proceedings, finding that the equities militate in favor of permitting a facially meritorious action to proceed here. The Court declines to approve recourse to a voluntary dismissal without prejudice under Rule 4:37- 1(b) as an appropriate avenue for addressing failures to comply with the affidavit of merit requirement, including when a minor is involved. Rather, the Court will require modification of the Judiciary’s electronic filing and notification case management system to ensure that, going forward, necessary and expected conferences are scheduled to enhance parties’ compliance with requirements under the Affidavit of Merit Statute, in furtherance of the statutory policy goals.