NJ Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Appeals: What 13 Decisions Show

What did New Jersey's 13 UM and UIM appeals decide?

Six were affirmed, three reversed and three mixed; the thirteenth, Campbell, is a pretrial evidence ruling with no appeal result. Nine are published and four are unpublished 2025 decisions.

Five came from Middlesex County, covered on our Middlesex County crash data page. For how UM and UIM coverage works in New Jersey before a claim reaches court, start with our NJ uninsured motorist claim guide.

Each opinion links to its free full text. Memudu and Nesby, discussed below, come from our separate UM and UIM decision file, not the 13 coded rows. All 76 rows are in our New Jersey car accident appeals index.

Can a step-down clause cut my UIM coverage to 15,000 dollars?

Not when the declarations page promises more. In Motil (2024), the court kept the 100,000 dollar UIM limit the insurer tried to step down to 15,000.

Britney Motil was driving her father's Jeep, listed on her parents' policy with a different garaging address. The insurer said she was neither a named insured nor a resident relative, so the step-down applied.

She was a covered driver, the Jeep was a covered car, and the UM premium was the same for every vehicle. Under the reasonable expectations doctrine, the policyholder's reading won.¹

Does a step-down apply to a commercial truck that hit me?

Not below the 750,000 dollar floor. In Rafanello (2020), a dump truck's insurer argued a step-down capped its exposure at 35,000 because the driver was not listed. Local steps for truck crash claims in Essex County are separate.

The court held that commercial vehicles in interstate or intrastate commerce must carry 750,000 dollars, listed driver or not. That covers a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, more than 10 passengers, or hazardous materials.

A light business van below that weight is outside the holding. With a truck, bus or hazmat carrier in that class, your own UIM may never be reached. Truck-specific steps are in our New Jersey truck accident guide.²

What happens when a phantom vehicle shares the blame?

Your UM carrier pays up to its limit for the missing driver's share. In Carbajal (2021), that was 15,000 of a 200,000 verdict, and the identified driver paid the other 185,000.

In Koukounias (2025), a merging phantom car forced a crash into a pole, but the jury found no permanent injury. How fault percentages are split is in our NJ fault splits from real cases; reporting steps are in our New Jersey hit and run claim guide.³

I own an uninsured car. Am I always barred from suing?

Only for injuries while operating it. In Memudu (2023), an uninsured owner killed in a second crash while retrieving his phone was not barred. The full rule for a hurt uninsured driver is in can you sue after driving uninsured.

He was rear-ended on the Turnpike in Edison. About half an hour later, a second, separate crash killed him beside his disabled car.

Because he was not operating it then, the wrongful death and survivor claims went ahead.⁴

Can I sue my UIM carrier for bad faith while the UIM claim is still open?

You can file, but the court may sever it and stay discovery until the UIM claim is decided. That is what Tenenbaum (2026) required.

Two claimants pleaded common-law bad faith and the Insurance Fair Conduct Act alongside disputed UIM claims. The trial courts let bad-faith discovery run.

The appeals court reversed in the live case and dismissed the other as no longer live.⁵

Can signing a release or filing late end a UIM claim?

Yes. In Nesby (2019), an unconditional release of the at-fault driver ended the later claims, and in Chenel (2025) a late complaint failed. Other ways to fight an insurer's no are in how to challenge an insurance denial.

In Nesby, the at-fault driver had no policy of her own. He took the 25,000 limit on the car she drove and released her.

He then sued her sister's and mother's insurers. He was not insured under those policies, so the claims failed.

In Chenel, the injured driver settled with the at-fault driver for 99,000 on a 100,000 policy, then pursued UIM. He offered no proof that Allstate's conduct kept him from filing on time.

Before you accept any payment, these cases point to four checks:

1. The declared UM and UIM limit, which Motil held controls over a step-down.
2. The other vehicle: a commercial truck in the 750,000 class changes the math.
3. Written notice to your UIM carrier before you accept, a step Nesby traced to the Longworth cases.
4. The release wording: a reservation covering UIM and other insurers.

What these settlements came to is in our dollar figures from NJ appeals. Broader questions are in 8 questions before accepting a settlement offer.⁶

Does a UM or UIM claim still need a permanent injury?

Often, yes. Three of the 13 UM and UIM appeals, all from 2025, were lost because the injury was not shown to be permanent.

Koukounias went to a jury, while Zavis and Joo ended on summary judgment. Joo had no medical proof that a prior condition was aggravated. The rulings are collected in 13 NJ verbal threshold rulings.