NISSAN INFINITI LT VS. NICOLE G. DEJESUS SANTANDER CONSUMER USA VS. JULIE A. DENGLER FINANCIAL SERVICES VEHICLE TRUST VS. ROY G. WILKINSON FINANCIAL SERVICES VEHICLE TRUST VS. JORDAN P. FELD (SC-001247-18, SC-001252-18, SC-001246-18 AND SC-001528-18, CAMDEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (CONSOLIDATED)
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
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.
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NOS. A-6008-17T3
A-6011-17T3
A-0416-18T3
A-0669-18T3
NISSAN INFINITI LT,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
NICOLE G. DEJESUS,
Defendant-Appellant.
______________________________
SANTANDER CONSUMER USA,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
JULIE A. DENGLER,
Defendant-Appellant.
______________________________
FINANCIAL SERVICES VEHICLE
TRUST,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
ROY G. WILKINSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
______________________________
FINANCIAL SERVICES VEHICLE
TRUST,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
JORDAN P. FELD,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________________
Argued June 4, 2019 – Decided June 18, 2019
Before Judges Fisher and Suter.
On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law
Division, Camden County, Docket Nos. SC-001247-18,
SC-001252-18, SC-001246-18, and SC-001528-18.
Timothy P. Smith argued the cause for appellants
Nicole DeJesus, Julie A. Dengler, Roy G. Wilkinson,
and Jordan P. Feld (Kinney Lisovicz Reilly & Wolff
PC, attorneys; Timothy P. Smith, of counsel and on the
briefs).
Kari B. Samuels argued the cause for respondents
Nissan Infiniti LT, Santander Consumer USA and
Financial Services Vehicle Trust (Goldfein Claims
Management, attorneys; Kari B. Samuels, on the
briefs).
A-6008-17T3
2
PER CURIAM
In these four appeals, which we consolidated for disposition in a single
opinion, we consider some of the same issues we previously rejected in Financial
Services Vehicle Trust v. Panter, 458 N.J. Super. 244 (App. Div. 2019). There,
we found that the owner of a leased vehicle, which was damaged by a
defendant's negligence, is entitled to pursue a claim for the vehicle's reduction
in value caused by the stigma of having its accident history revealed in databases
like CarFax. Id. at 249-50. Like the plaintiffs in Panter, plaintiffs here provided
expert evidence to support their claims that even though the vehicles were
restored to their pre-accident function and condition, their resale value was
reduced by their accident histories. In adhering to our prior decision, we
conclude that these damage claims were viable and that defendants' arguments
that the recovery is too speculative to be legally countenanced are without merit.
In each of these nonjury, small claim cases, the trial judge rendered
judgments in favor of the vehicle owners on this diminution theory. In
Santander Consumer USA v. Dengler, the judge found in favor of plaintiff on
this claim and entered judgment in the amount of $950. The judge made similar
rulings and entered judgments in the other three cases in favor of plaintiffs in
similar amounts.
A-6008-17T3
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In appealing these judgments, each defendant argues that: (1) because the
vehicle was restored to its pre-accident appearance and condition, there could
be no further recovery; and (2) plaintiff's expert was erroneously permitted to
provide a net or personal opinion. As noted, we expressed our view of the legal
sufficiency of the identical diminution issue raised in Panter. For those reasons,
we reject defendants' similar arguments in these appeals.
In Panter, we also rejected arguments about the sufficiency of the expert
testimony there offered. Id. at 257-59. The similar arguments posed here are
indistinguishable and are rejected for the same reasons expressed in Panter.
All the other arguments posed by these defendants are of insufficient merit
to warrant further discussion in a written opinion. R. 2:11-3(e)(1)(E).
The judgments under review in these four appeals are affirmed.
A-6008-17T3
4