On January 20, 2021, Joe Siclari, Esq. of the Law Office of Patrick Patel, argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court in the matter of Huggins v. Aguilar, on behalf of the injured accident victim Huggins.

The issue before the Supreme Court is an insurance coverage dispute, mainly between New Jersey Manufacturers and Federal Ins. Co., though Plaintiff Huggins has a significant vested interest in the outcome as it would directly impact how much coverage would be afforded the tortfeasor against whom Huggins could recover.

The Plaintiff was injured when his vehicle was struck my Aguilar, who was making an illegal U-turn. At the time of the accident, Aguilar was operating a loaner vehicle owned by a dealership, which was given to her while her car was being serviced. Unfortunately, Aguilar had only a minimal insurance policy of her own. The Plaintiff’s own UIM carrier argued that their coverage should not be triggered since the vehicle owned by the dealership had a liability policy which should provide additional coverage to Aguilar. That insurer, Federal, denied coverage, citing an alleged “step-down” clause that dropped coverage to nothing. NJM and Huggins argue that this is not a valid step down, but rather an illegal escape provision.

The Plaintiff and NJM have already won at the trial and appellate level, but Federal applied for certiorari to the New Jersey Supreme Court, which was granted. After an exhausting 2 hours of argument by all parties, the seven Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court have the matter in their hands to decide.

While we are hopeful for a favorable outcome, it is a privilege and an honor to appear on the biggest of stages in the New Jersey Court system, and our pleasure to advocate hard on behalf of our client.

-Joe Siclari, Esq.