Antonio Gonzalez, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Safe and Sound Security Corp. Defendant and Third Party-Plaintiff, and…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the Appellate Division, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to warn plaintiff that his willful refusal to testify would result in dismissal of his complaint and that dismissal, not an adverse inference instruction, was the proper sanction. The Court also affirmed the proper jury instruction on the property owner's duty to business invitees and upheld the award of attorney's fees under the Offer of Judgment Rule, but vacated that award on remand.