The New Jersey Appellate Division concluded that, absent a conviction or guilty plea to driving under the influence, state law does not bar the claim of a plaintiff injured in a traffic accident even though he admitted to drinking and may have had a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit at the time of the crash.

According to the opinion, the plaintiff, George Castano, was driving his motorcycle southbound in the left lane of Tonnelle Avenue in Jersey City around 1:15 a.m. on Nov. 20, 2019. Castano had visited three different bars since 2 p.m. the day before. In his deposition, Castano said both that he was drunk at the time of the accident and that he had alcohol in his system but was not drunk.