Ighama-Amegor v. N.J. State Police

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IBILOLA IGHAMA-AMEGOR, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE, NEW JERSEY STATE TROOPER R.L. KROV, NEW JERSEY STATE TROOPER L. AGUILAR, NEW JERSEY STATE TROOPER M.S. JOHNSON, STATE OF NEW JERSEY, COLDWELL BANKER RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE, JOHN PAPA, individually, and acting as agent of COLDWELL BANKER RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE, COLDWELL BANKER REAL ESTATE, LLC, and FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORP, Defendants, and ALPHA TRANSPORTATION INC., ^[1] d/b/a ALPHA MOVING AND STORAGE, i/p/a ALPHA MOVING AND STORAGE, Defendant-Respondent.

No. A-0311-21

Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division

January 6, 2023

This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

Submitted October 3, 2022

On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division Essex County, Docket No. L-4528-18.

Forman, Cardonsky & Tsinman, attorneys for appellant (Juan C. Cervantes, on the briefs).

Braff Harris & Sukoneck, attorneys for respondent (Joseph M. DiCicco, on the brief).

Before Judges Smith and Marczyk.

PER CURIAM.

Plaintiff Ibilola Ighama-Amegor, brought a claim for damages against defendant, Alpha Transportation, Inc. (Alpha), alleging negligence in transporting and storing her property. She appeals the trial court's order granting summary judgment in favor of defendant, contending the trial court erred in finding her claim time-barred under N.J.S.A. 45:14D-12, the Public Mover and Warehousemen Licensing Act. We affirm.

Plaintiff and her sister, Bose Obegedor, along with other family members, lived in a house located in Hampton. Bose owned the house, but foreclosure proceedings had commenced, and a judgment of foreclosure had been entered. Plaintiff, her sister, and their family were evicted on June 28, 2016, and the record shows the events which led to the judgment of foreclosure and resulting eviction are not before us.

On the date of the eviction, plaintiff attempted to remove personal items from the home because she did not want those items placed into storage. The items included medical records, personal effects, clothes, and perishable food items. A New Jersey State Police trooper, who was present during the eviction process, prevented her from doing so. During this unfortunate episode, Bose was arrested.

Alpha, was an agent of the judgment holder. Alpha commenced the removal of plaintiff and her family's possessions on June 28 and did not complete it until July 5, 2016. As part of Alpha's standard practice, it does not remove perishable items from a property during an eviction unless specifically directed to do so. The record shows that another agent, not Alpha, gathered various perishables from the apartment on July 5 and placed them in bags on a picnic table outside the home.

The record shows plaintiff and her family's possessions, including at least some of the perishable items, were removed from the residence and placed in four public storage units.^[2] Plaintiff was unable to obtain the keys to the storage facility from her sister Bose, and eventually plaintiff made arrangements to cut the locks in order to access her sister's storage units. When she gained access to the units, she discovered spoiled and rotting food mixed in with the rest of the property. Plaintiff contends that she conducted a post-eviction inventory which revealed many of her possessions were missing from the units.

Plaintiff filed a complaint on June 27, 2018 against multiple defendants, including: Alpha, the judgment holder and affiliated agents, the New Jersey State Police, and individual state troopers. She alleged various theories against the co-defendants which included negligence, trespass, and conversion. Over the course of the next thirty-six months, all defendants, except for Alpha, were dismissed by stipulation.

Alpha filed a motion for summary judgment, which was heard on August 19, 2021, by Judge Bridget A. Stecher. Alpha moved for summary judgment arguing plaintiff's claim was time barred under a plain reading of N.J.S.A. 45:14D-12.

The motion court made findings: plaintiff and her sister Bose had an opportunity to remove property, including plaintiff's, prior to the eviction date, but declined to do so; the property, including perishables, was placed in storage under Bose's name; and plaintiff presented no evidence showing she was blocked by Alpha or anyone else from getting the keys from Bose.

The court concluded as a matter of law that the action was time-barred under the statute, and also found no genuine issue of material fact on the question of Alpha's negligence. Plaintiff appealed, contending the statute did not apply to plaintiff and there was sufficient evidence of Alpha's negligence to defeat summary judgment.

Our review of a ruling on summary judgment is de novo, applying the same standard as ...