Gambino v. Royal Globe Insurance Companies

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

HANDLER, J.

This case, together with Allstate Insurance Co. v. Skolny, 86 N.J. 112 (1981), decided today, presents difficult issues of statutory construction involving New Jersey’s personal injury protection (PIP) statute. The problem of ascertaining legislative intent in each case requires an assessment of the meaning of statutory phraseology in the light of the principles and policies which undergird the PIP statute. In this case the interpretative issue is posed in terms of whether the plaintiff-claimant, Joseph Gambino, was an “income producer,”…