ANTHONY BRIGLIA, ET UX., PLAINTIFFS, v. EXXON COMPANY, USA, ETC., ET AL., DEFENDANTS. WING KEN WONG, ET UX., PLAINTIFFS, v. DORRI L. FARLEY, AND ALBERT E. FARLEY, JR., J/S/A, DEFENDANTS. KRISTA BIENKOWSKI, PLAINTIFF, v. RICHARD BITTNER, DEFENDANT. IWONA Z. PAWELEK, ET VIR., PLAINTIFFS, v. DARIUSZ T. MAZUR, ET AL., DEFENDANTS., 310 N.J. Super. 498

Summary

In four unrelated personal injury cases involving physical injury, defendants, alleged tortfeasors, requested independent medical exams (IME) of plaintiff tort victims. Plaintiffs, while recognizing their obligations to attend such exams under N.J. Ct. R. 4:19, sought leave to have counsel present during the exam or to have it recorded. Defendants filed motions to compel plaintiffs to attend without counsel and/or without recording devices. The court adopted the Wisconsin and Oregon approach, under which the matter rests within the sound discretion of the trial court and the burden was on plaintiffs who wished to have an attorney attend or wished to record the IME. Thus, the court held the burden was on plaintiffs to justify why in their particular case their attorney needed to be present and/or a recording device needed to be used. The court granted defendants' motions because plaintiffs failed to make the necessary showing to justify attendance of an attorney or the presence of a ...