Standard v. Vas

Standard v. Vas, 279 N.J. Super. 251, 652 A.2d 746 (App.Div.1995) involved the tolling of the minority statute of limitations. The Court held that the Supreme Court In Green v. Auerbach Chevrolet Corp., 127 N.J. 591, 606 A.2d 1093 (1992), did not intend to toll the running of the statute of limitations until the twenty-first birthday of every minor who had accrued a cause of action before the date of the Green opinion. Standard, supra, 279 N.J. Super. at 256, 652 A.2d 746. The Court reached this result because in Green the Supreme Court had "made clear its recognition of the balancing equitable considerations of statutes of limitation; promotion of timely and efficient litigation of claims, prevention of stale claims; provision of repose; and the recognition of the impact of time upon the memory and availability of witnesses." Id. at 255, 652 A.2d 746. The Court simply could discern "no equitable or sound policy reason" to allow all litigants to wait until two years after their twenty-first birthday before filing a complaint. Id. at 256, 652 A.2d 746. Thus, The Court concluded that an individual who had reached eighteen years of age when the law was unsettled had to commence his lawsuit within two years of the date of the Green decision.