Fin. Servs. Vehicle Trust v. Panter

FISHER, P.J.A.D.

*248In these four suits, lodged in the Small Claims Section of the Special Civil Part,1 plaintiffs sought damages to redress the alleged diminished value of motor vehicles they claim to own. Defendants stipulated that the operation of their vehicles caused physical damage2 to the vehicles in question, but they argue that the claim that each vehicle was also devalued by the stigma of having been in an accident is too speculative to be cognizable.

*249Each suit was the subject of a bench trial before the same judge; two of them - El and Fratto 3 - were tried the same day.4

*306And each suit…