Jersey Shore Medical Center-Fitkin Hospital, a Corporation of the State of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Appellant, v…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed the trial court's summary judgment in favor of the defendant, holding that both spouses are liable for necessary expenses incurred by either spouse, but that the new rule applies only prospectively. The Court found the prior common‑law rule that imposed liability on husbands but not wives to be unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause and the New Jersey Constitution, and it recognized the hospital's standing to challenge that rule.