Robert L. Clifford

Name: Van Horn v. William Blanchard Co. — Opinion of the Court
Author: Robert L. Clifford

Biographical details

Robert L. Clifford (1924-2014) published works such as Costa v. Josey — Dissent and Van Horn v. William Blanchard Co. — Opinion of the Court. These writings evoke negligence, immunity and defendants.

Quotes by Robert L. Clifford

Robert L. Clifford, Costa v. Josey — Dissent (1980)

“ But the area within which government has the power to act for the public good is almost without limit, and the State has no duty to do everything that might be done. Rather there is a political discretion as to what ought to be done, as to priorities, and as to how much should be raised by taxes or borrowed to that end. If government does act, then, when it acts in a manner short of ordinary prudence, liability could be judged as in the case of a private party. So if a road were constructed of a design imperiling the user, the issue of fault would present no novel problem. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Robert L. Clifford, Van Horn v. William Blanchard Co… (1981)

“ The dissenting judge's view, with which our dissenting colleagues are in substantial agreement, was that a plaintiff's right to recover should be determined by combining defendants' percentages of negligence. Under that approach there would first be a determination of whether a plaintiff is entitled to recover at all by reference to his negligence alone; if that percentage is not greater than fifty percent, recovery is allowed. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Robert L. Clifford, Costa v. Josey — Dissent (1980)

“ Where the plan or design of an improvement to public property has been approved by a public employee exercising discretion or by an official body, the State is immune from liability for injuries resulting from a dangerous condition on that public property. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Robert L. Clifford, Van Horn v. William Blanchard Co… (1981)

“ The Legislature's use of the singular "the person" rather than the plural form strongly suggests that a plaintiff's negligence should be compared to the negligence of only one person at a time. Plaintiff would have us reject that sensible construction by resort to N.J.S.A. 1:1-2, which provides that " [w] herever, in describing or referring to any person * * * any word imparting the singular number * * * is used, the same shall be understood to include and to apply to several persons or parties as well * * *." ”

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Source: Wikisource

Robert L. Clifford, Costa v. Josey — Dissent (1980)

“ That is, once the immunity attaches no subsequent event or change of conditions shall render a public entity liable on the theory that the existing plan or design of public property constitutes a dangerous condition. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Robert L. Clifford, Van Horn v. William Blanchard Co… (1981)

“ Contributory negligence shall not bar recovery in an action by any person or his legal representative to recover damages for negligence resulting in death or injury to person or property, if such negligence was not greater than the negligence of the person against whom recovery is sought, but any damages sustained shall be diminished by the percentage sustained of negligence attributable to the person recovering. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Robert L. Clifford, Van Horn v. William Blanchard Co… (1981)

“ It distinguishes between or among defendants: those from whom recovery is allowed and those against whom recovery is barred. The most obvious point of distinction between the two classes of defendants is the quantum of their respective negligence vis-a-vis the plaintiff's negligence. So if plaintiff is thirty-five percent negligent, defendant A is forty-five percent at fault and defendant B's negligence amounts to twenty percent, in keeping with section 3 of the Act plaintiff would be permitted to recover from defendant A but not from defendant B. Cf. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Robert L. Clifford, Costa v. Josey — Dissent (1980)

“ But whether a road should have four or six or eight lanes, or there should be dividers, or circles or jughandles for turns, or traffic lights, or traffic policemen, or a speed limit of 50 or 60 miles per hour -- such matters involve discretion and revenue and are committed to the judgment of the legislative and executive branches. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Robert L. Clifford, Van Horn v. William Blanchard Co… (1981)

“ Any party who is so compelled to pay more than such party's percentage share may seek contribution from the other joint tortfeasors. [ [ [N.J.S.A. 2] ] A:15-5.3 (emphasis added) .]
[A555] This statute obviously addresses a multi-defendant situation, as in the case before us. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Robert L. Clifford, Costa v. Josey — Dissent (1980)

“ He charges the Department of Transportation with negligently maintaining and repairing the divider, thereby creating a dangerous condition which caused the accident. The Department defends on the basis of immunity afforded by the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 et seq. (hereafter the Act) , particularly plan and design immunity, N.J.S.A. 59:4-6, and discretionary activities immunity, N.J.S.A. 59:3-2.
Immunity is the dominant consideration of the Act. See, e.g., [A344] Malloy v. State, 76 N.J. 515, 519 (1978) . ”

Robert L. Clifford

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