Kubert v. Best

In Kubert v. Best, (432 NJ Super 495, 75 A3d 1214 [2013].), the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, held that a third party, who had knowledge that the motorist she was texting was driving at a time the parties were exchanging text messages, could be found liable for any resulting damages. In Kubert, the plaintiffs were riding on a motorcycle when a driver crossed the center line and struck them. Both plaintiffs lost their legs as a result of the injuries they sustained in the accident. Not only did the plaintiffs sue the driver who struck their motorcycle, but they also sued Shannon Colonna, the party who allegedly was texting the defendant motorist. At her deposition, Colonna testified that she had sent the defendant 180 text messages in less than 12 hours on the day of the accident. Colonna also testified that she did not pay attention to whether the recipient of her texts was driving a car at the time or not. On motion, the underlying New Jersey trial court granted Colonna summary judgment holding that she had no legal duty to avoid sending text messages to Best even though she knew he was driving. The Appellate Division reversed, though still affirming summary judgment on behalf of Colonna. While affirming that Colonna could not be held liable because of the lack of proof demonstrating she knew Best was indeed driving at the time the texts were exchanged, the Appellate Division concluded that "a person sending text messages has a duty not to text someone who is driving if the texter knows, or has special reason to know, the recipient will view the text while driving." (Id. at 507.) Because the plaintiffs had failed to establish that Colonna had such knowledge while texting Best, she could not be held liable for the resulting injuries caused by the accident.