The New Jersey Appellate Division reversed and remanded a lower court’s ruling after finding the Essex County Superior Court abused its discretion in denying a motion for reconsideration of a sanctions order that suppressed a defendant company’s liability defense.

In the underlying case, Moore v. RE Associates, the plaintiff sued seeking damages for injuries he sustained when he stepped in a hole in his employer’s parking lot on March 27, 2019, according to the opinion. Kareem Moore worked as a truck driver for National Retail Transportation and fell at its terminal in North Bergen, which was owned by the defendant, 2820 16th Street Realty Associates. The defendant appealed the trial court order barring the company from contesting liability at trial.