ASSEMBLY, No. 867

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblymen MALONE and ARNONE

An Act clarifying the liability of public entities under certain circumstances and amending N.J.S.59:4-4 and N.J.S.59:4-5.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. N.J.S.59:4-4 is amended to read as follows:

    59:4-4. Failure to provide emergency warning signals.

    a. Subject to section 59:4-2 of this act, a public entity shall be liable for injury proximately caused by its failure to provide emergency signals, signs, markings or other devices if such devices were necessary to warn of a dangerous condition which endangered the safe movement of traffic and which would not be reasonably apparent to, and would not have been anticipated by, a person exercising due care.

    b. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose liability upon a public entity for injury proximately caused by its failure to replace or maintain ordinary traffic signals, signs, markings or other devices, unless the public entity had actual or constructive knowledge of the absence of such ordinary traffic signals, signs, markings or other devices and its actions or failure to act are palpably unreasonable.

(cf: N.J.S.59:4-4)

    2. N.J.S. 59:4-5 is amended to read as follows:

    59:4-5. Failure to provide ordinary traffic signals--immunity.

    Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable under this chapter for an injury caused by the failure to provide, replace or maintain ordinary traffic signals, signs, markings or other similar devices ,unless the public entity had actual or constructive knowledge of the absence of such ordinary traffic signals, signs, markings or other devices and its actions or failure to act are palpably unreasonable.

(cf: N.J.S.59:4-5)

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill amends N.J.S.A.59:4-5 to provide that a public entity will not be liable for injury proximately caused by the failure to replace or maintain ordinary traffic signals, signs, markings or other devices except under certain circumstances as added by the committee amendments. It also amends N.J.S.A.59:4-4 (concerning emergency signs) to provide that section shall not be construed to impose liability upon a public entity for injury proximately caused by its failure to replace or maintain ordinary traffic signals, signs, markings or other devices except under certain circumstances as added by the committee amendments. Currently the law provides that a public entity may be liable for injury proximately caused by its failure to provide emergency signals, signs, markings or other devices under certain circumstances set forth in N.J.S.A.59:4-4. This bill does not change that provision.

    In Civalier by Civalier v. Estate of Trancucci, 138 N.J. 52 (1994), the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in a 4-2 decision that N.J.S.59:4-4 of the "New Jersey Tort Claims Act" imposes liability on a public entity for its failure to replace a missing stop sign if a motorist's reliance on the previous presence of the sign caused injury. This bill is intended to overcome the court's ruling in that case by clarifying when public entities are immune from liability.

Clarifies certain immunities granted by the "New Jersey Tort Claims Act" to public entities.