Dismissal of a personal injury case because the plaintiff’s lawyer did not pay $1,000 in sanctions for perceived foot dragging on a trial date was too harsh, a state appeals court said Monday.

"Cases should be won or lost on their merits and not because litigants have failed to comply precisely with particular court schedules, unless such noncompliance was purposeful and no lesser remedy was available," the Appellate Division said in Demi v. Azcona, A-0864-11.