Park v. Park

In Park v. Park, 309 N.J.Super. 312, 707 A.2d 157 (App.Div.1998), the Court noted that we considered it "plain that the coverage provisions of Chapters 6A and 6B of Title 39 and the coverage provisions of Chapter 28 of Title 17 constitute a harmonious legislative plan that must be read in pari materia." 309 N.J.Super. at 316-17, 707 A.2d 157. In that case, plaintiff was a passenger in an out-of-state livery van who was injured in New Jersey in a collision with a tractor trailer. The van's insurer, authorized to do business in New Jersey, provided PIP benefits to its injured passengers and ultimately sought reimbursement from the owner and driver of the tractor trailer. Defendants resisted, arguing that the deemer statute, N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.4, made no provision for PIP benefits for bus passengers. The Court concluded this had to be "purely a matter of oversight," Park, supra, 309 N.J.Super. at 316, 707 A.2d 157, and determined that common sense and logic compelled us to hold the deemer statute to be amended by implication to include bus passenger PIP benefits. Id. at 317, 707 A.2d 157.