Robert Lavezzi v. State of N.J. (072856)

In this case, the Court determines whether the State is obligated to defend and indemnify employees of a county prosecutor’s office involved in a civil action arising from the loss of, and damage to, non-contraband items seized in the course of a criminal investigation.

The items at the center of this ease were the property of plaintiffs Robert and Karen Lavezzi. They were seized from plaintiffs’ home after the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (Prosecutor’s Office) executed a search warrant issued in connection with an investigation of plaintiff Robert Lavezzi. That investigation was…