DeMarco v. DeMarco

DeMarco v. DeMarco, 274 N.J. Super. 257, 643 A.2d 1053 (Law Div.1992), aff'd o.b., 274 N.J. Super. 210, 643 A.2d 1029 (App.Div.), certif. denied, 138 N.J. 264, 649 A.2d 1285 (1994), involved a parent's decision to take her daughter, who had previously been hospitalized for drug abuse, to a crisis center. 274 N.J. Super. at 260, 643 A.2d 1053. While driving to the center, the daughter became agitated, jumped out of the car and sustained severe injuries. Id. at 261, 643 A.2d 1053. She sued her mother. The Law Division invoked the parental immunity doctrine because the mother "was clearly caught on the horns of a dilemma": she could have stopped the car when the daughter exhibited aberrant behavior, or proceeded to the crisis center. Id. at 262, 643 A.2d 1053. The court reasoned that the choice of proceeding to the center was a reasonable exercise of discretion, observing that "a decision whether to have a child treated for an emotional problem, and the time and manner of treatment falls within a parent's philosophy of child-raising." Id. at 263, 643 A.2d 1053. The court concluded that that decision "involves an essential element in providing customary child care which should be free from judicial intrusion." Ibid.