An appeals court has ruled that the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit which was filed against Draeger Safety Diagnostics Inc. didn’t succeed to adequately plead a plausible claim.

According to an opinion filed on 9th of December in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the appeal was argued on 20th of November. The panel gave the decision that they support the district court’s decision to dismiss the class action complaint due to causes that differ in part from those of the district court.

Circuit judges D. Brooks Smith, Thomas M. Hardiman and Maryanne Trump Barry voted in the majority, with Barry authoring the opinion.

It was stated in the opinion, “Plaintiffs contend that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine does not preclude their claims because they were not parties to the Chun case and are not seeking to overturn it or their DWI convictions. We agree with the District Court that Rooker-Feldman precludes the exercise of jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ design defect claim, but conclude that their fraud claim does not fall within its scope”.

In the year 2013, the plaintiffs, Bobby Johnson and Edwin Aguaiza, filed their class action lawsuit in April in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The plaintiffs were taken into custody as they were suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, Johnson in February 2010 and Aguaiza in June 2011. Both had given breath samples for intoxication tests using Draeger’s Alcotest 7110 MKIII-C device, which showed a BAC about 0.08%.

The men pleaded guilty to DWI due to which their driving privileges were suspended and they had to pay fines.

Draeger moved to dismiss the class action based on Rooker-Feldman and argued as well that the plaintiffs had not succeeded in providing requisite elements of both their product liability and fraud claims.

The district court granted the motion.

The court ruled that the source of the injury targeted by the plaintiffs’ New Jersey Product Liability Act claim is the state courts’ evidentiary rulings in their Driving While Intoxication cases, not Draeger.

According to the opinion, “Plaintiffs have alleged that they were tested using a device that could not be fully calibrated, and that based on the (allegedly erroneous) Alcotest results, they faced ‘certain conviction, suffered physical and emotional injuries, and, in Johnson’s case, had to decide whether to resign or be terminated from his job”.

The court ruled that these injuries can be traced directly to the state court’s decision in each plaintiff’s case that his Alcotest reading was valid.

It was not Draeger’s design; it was the state court’s acceptance of the Alcotest as scientifically trustworthy, according to the opinion.

The fraud claim is not the same.

It was stated in the opinion, “In essence, the claim was that the plaintiff was forced to litigate in a rigged system. Applying the four-part Rooker-Feldman test, the court concluded that it was undisputed that the first and third requirements were met – plaintiffs had lost in state court and their DWI convictions were rendered before they filed their federal suit. With respect to the remaining requirements – that plaintiffs were complaining of injuries caused by the state-court judgments and that they invited review and rejection of those judgments – the court concluded that it was the legal framework established in Chun, not the purportedly erroneous test results or Ryser’s statements, that caused plaintiffs’ alleged injuries. Plaintiffs come close to adequately alleging the falsity of the scientific-reliability statements when they aver that it is ‘impossible’ to conclude that the Alcotest is scientifically reliable because that would require it to yield the same results upon multiple tests and no tests are available for the ‘volume, blowing time, and flow rate”.

But, the panel decided even taking as true that Hansueli Ryser, the vice president of Draeger, is a “highly trained scientist” who grasps the concept of scientific reliability; plaintiffs’ allegations are simply not adequate to allow an inference Ryser’s statement that he believed the overall instrument to be scientifically trustworthy was not true due to the reason certain sub-parameters could not be routinely tested, or to infer further that he believed his statements to be false.

Ashton E. Thomas of Ashton E. Thomas Attorney at Law in Elizabeth, N.J, represented the plaintiffs.

News Source: www.LegalNewsLine.com

30-year-old Christopher Lentz of Mount Laurel was arrested by police officers on multiple charges on Friday afternoon after a brief car chase.

According to the Evesham Township Police Department, Lentz faced multiple charges including eluding the police officers, theft of a vehicle, theft of credit cards, resisting arrest and driving while intoxicated. He was also charged with other motor vehicle violations in connection to the incident.

The incident that took place on 19 December began as police officers spotted a vehicle traveling on Route 73 at around 3 pm. Police officers identified the vehicle as being reported stolen earlier that day.

A pursuit was started and the officers followed the vehicle into neighboring Mount Laurel. When the vehicle eventually pulled over in heavy traffic, the officers were able to apprehend the driver.

After a brief scuffle with the officers, the driver was identifies as Lentz.

He was places in Burlington County Jail on $525,000 bail.

News Source: www.NJ.com

23-year-old Jeremy Jackson of Williamstown was identified as the victim in a fatal crash that took place on I-295 in Logan Township on Thursday 9 December, 2014.

Jackson of Monroe Township was declared dead in the incident that took place near mile marker 10.7 shortly after 10 a.m.

Jackson was driving an Econoline van when he collided with the rear end of a tractor trailer when both vehicles were headed south.

According to the state police, the driver of the tractor trailer did not sustain any injury in the accident. The driver of the tractor trailer was gaining speed in the right lane after he had pulled over to the side of the road to check a headlight when Jackson crashed into him.

The witnesses told the state police that the brake lights of the van went on just moments before the impact.

The right lane of southbound traffic was closed for some time as crews investigated the incident. After the roadway was cleared, the right lane was reopened by state police.

The incident is still being investigated.

News Source: www.Nj.com

30-year-old Christopher Russell was arrested after he stole a bulldozer from a construction site in West Hudson Park and then tried to drive it home creating havoc in the park.

According to officials, Russell was arrested that night when he tried to drive the bulldozer from Harrison to Newark.

Details of the incident given by Harrison Police Capt. Mike Green told that Russell wrecked the park when he drove the bulldozer, leveling signs, benches in the park, a drinking fountain, a tree, two steel bollards, fencing in the park and construction materials in the park. He also damaged a bridge parapet, tore up grass and left bulldozer tracks all over the park. He eventually made it out of the park and hit a parked car.

Several witnesses started reporting the bulldozer to the police on Friday just after 9 p.m. The incidents were reported from various locations including Davis Lane and Cross Street. By the time police caught up with the bulldozer, it was two blocks from the park, in the middle of a street. Russell was climbing out of the bulldozer at the time.

The officers smelled alcohol on Russell. Upon questioning, Russell admitted having taken the bulldozer. He also told the police that he was cold and was driving the bulldozer home. Green said that the keys of the bulldozer were inside it so he started driving it.

Russell was taken into custody without incident and faced multiple charges including DWI, criminal mischief, theft of the bulldozer and leaving the scene of an accident.

Russell was remanded to the Hudson County jail in Kearny. His bail was set at $20,000 with a 10 percent cash option.

News Source: www.NJ.com

A Morris County assistant prosecutor said that 35-year-old Clifton Gauthier, a Rockaway Township police officer, charged for attempting to get a charge dismissed for his cousin, had previously attempted to do something like that for his uncle.

The incident happened on 9th of February, 2012, and the cop faces charges of official misconduct and witness tampering in relation to his alleged efforts on behalf of his cousin, Sean Costigan, who faced a DWI charge in Rockaway Township Municipal Court.

Assistant Prosecutor Sahil Kabse told that almost 2 weeks before, on 25th of January 2012, Gauthier had attempted to intervene on behalf of an uncle, Edward Garneau, who was also charged with DWI.

On Wednesday, a motion was filed by Kabse in Superior Court in Morristown seeking permission to give information of the Garneau incident as a “prior bad act” that would be “relevant” as proof in Gauthier’s case. Kabse requested that a hearing on his motion be held on 18th of December.

On 23rd of November 2011, Garneau was taken into custody in Rockaway Township for allegedly driving under the influence. On 25th of January 2012, Denis Driscoll, who was then the Rockaway Township municipal prosecutor, was talking to the arresting officers in Garneau’s case.

According to Kabse, Gauthier “came to municipal court and interrupted their conversation in an attempt to speak to Driscoll about his uncle’s case”. Driscoll ‘kept putting off’ Gauthier’s attempts to speak to him and at some point the arresting officers told Driscoll of the “familial relationship” between Garneau and Gauthier. Driscoll told Gauthier, “He should know better”.

Upon Driscoll’s request, the case was transferred to Morristown Municipal Court, where Garneau entered a guilty plea.

Kabse told that in Costigan’s case, Gauthier contacted the arresting state trooper, Nagib Saad and told him he did not have to appear in court in the case, based on information he said he had received from Driscoll. For verification, Saad called Driscoll who said “he did not speak” to Gauthier and was “not aware of any reason” for the trooper not to appear in court. Driscoll then contacted Gauthier, who said it was “misunderstanding” based on information that had been given to him by his then-defense lawyer.

In his motion to use the information in Gauthier’s case, Kabse said, “evidence of other crimes is admissible to show motive, opportunities, preparations, plan … when those matters are relevant to a material issue in dispute”.

Gauthier’s efforts to intervene on behalf of his uncle made it clear that his attempt to assist his cousin was not “a misunderstanding or mistake”.

News Source: www.DailyRecord.com

ENGLEWOOD – An Englewood police officer was hospitalized and several others were assaulted by a DUI suspect early Saturday morning in a bloody confrontation as police officers tried to arrest the suspect.

38-year-old Michael Kruk of Lindenhurst, N.Y., was arrested and taken to Bergen County Jail where he was held on $110,000 bail. Kruk faced multiple charges including drunk driving, assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, making terroristic threats and obstruction.

The incident took place at around 12:30 a.m. when an officer spotted a 2003 BMW idling on Grand Avenue behind a closed business. The officer suspected that it could be a burglar lurking around and approached the vehicle.

When Patrol Officer Byron Aguayo approached the vehicle, he found Kruk in the vehicle drunken with an open container of alcohol.

The officer ordered Kruk to get out of the vehicle and according to Detective Capt. Tim Torell, Kruk immediately struck Aguayo. He then struggled with the officer after which he was handcuffed and placed in a patrol vehicle to be taken to the station. On his way to the headquarters, Kruk smashed his head against the metal bars and windows of the police cruiser.

By the time they reached the station, Kruk had managed to twist around and have his handcuffs in front of his body instead of behind his back. When the officers opened the door to the police vehicle, Kruk charged towards them, kicking and punching the officers. Once he was inside the headquarters, he continued to be combative and assaulted two more officers. According to Torell, one of these officers was a patrol sergeant who received an injury during the struggle and had to go off duty.

Kruk was also hospitalized after the episode and was forced to use an anti-spit cage after he spit at several officers. He was also aggressive at the hospital where he threatened to grab the gun of one of the officers guarding him and threatened to “shoot him in the head”.

According to the authorities, Kruk may be deported to his homeland in Poland after the charges he is facing. Record shows that he also has active warrants for his arrest in Clifton, Passaic, Garfield, Wood-Ridge and Riverdale.

News Source: www.NJ.com

TRENTON – 31-year-old Magna Rodas-Argueta from Trenton, was charged with DWI and three counts of child endangerment after she was found passed out behind the wheel of a parked car.

The incident took place on Thursday when police found the woman in the car with two children. A police officer was flagged down by a 9-year-old girl around 1 p.m. Tuesday. According to Lt. Stephen Varn, the girl said she could not rouse her mother who was inside a parked car on the 600 block of Chambers Streets.

Rodas-Argueta was charged with driving while intoxicated and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She was arrested and taken to the station. Her bail was set at $75,000.

Her children were given into the custody of the office of Child Protection and Permanency, formerly known as the Division of Youth and Family Services.

Varn said that an investigation is ongoing.

News Source: www.NJ.com

Officer Patrick R. Sajewicz with Garfield police was charged with DWI, assault by auto, reckless driving and careless motor vehicle operation after he drove into a building in Chester causing property destruction.

The officer had been sworn into the police department just over a week ago at a formal ceremony on Oct. 7.

22-year-old Sajewicz was driving a 2014 Infinity on 15 October when he allegedly failed to maintain control of his vehicle and crashed into a building. The building was located on Main Street in Chester.

There was a passenger riding in the vehicle with Sajewicz who suffered several injuries in the crash. According to the investigating officers, Sajewicz was allegedly driving while intoxicated.

An investigation was started to look into the matter by the Chester Borough Police Department and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, as a result of which Sajewicz was arrested on Oct. 20.

Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Chester Borough Police Chief David Jara released a statement with the charges against Sajewicz.

News Source: www.NorthJersey.com

31-year-old Shaun Bailey of Phillipsburg, formerly of Johnsonburg, New Jersey, ended up hitting his mother in the head and kicking her repeatedly as she lay on the ground, less than three hours after he was arrested for DWI.

According to court records, Bailey was scheduled to make his first appearance in New Jersey Superior Court in Belvidere on Monday for multiple charges including aggravated assault and making terroristic threats.

Bailey was stopped by an officer in Hackettstown when he was driving on Route 182 at 2:05 Sunday morning for an alleged traffic infraction. The officer issued him field sobriety tests as he could smell alcohol coming from his vehicle.

He was arrested and taken to the police headquarters and charged with DWI and several other driving offenses.

Less than three hours later, the New Jersey Police were dispatched to an address in Frelinghuysen Township for reports of a domestic incident. When police arrived at the scene, they found that Bailey hit his mother in the back of her head and also hit her several times as she lay on the ground.

Court records confirm that Shaun Bailey told his mother Sharon, “I should get a knife and finish you or I can get someone just to have you killed.”

Bailey was arrested for the domestic incident and sent to the Warren County jail where he remained in custody Monday afternoon. His bail was set at $15,000, which if he is able to post, the court ordered him not to contact his mother.

Source: www.LehighValleyLive.com