The New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously held that an insurance carrier has no duty to defend allegations of recklessness against an employer that had previously paid a workers' compensation claim for an injured employee.

Ruling Thursday in Rodriguez v. Shelbourne Spring, the justices determined that the carrier would not need to defend either the negligence, or the so-called Laidlow claims, which arise out of allegedly intentional acts by an employer, that the plaintiff brought after he was injured.