S.P. v. Newark Police Department

The opinion of the court was delivered by

AXELRAD, P.J.A.D.

In this appeal we address the interplay of the Tort Claims Act (TCA), N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 to 59:12-3, and the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act of 1991 (PDVA), N.J.S.A. 2C:25-1 to -35. We consider whether a victim and her attacker, boarders in a rooming house, can be considered “household members” under the PDVA. We also consider whether the PDVA, N.J.SA. 2C:25-21, expressly creates an exception to the immunity provisions of the TCA such that the failure of police to arrest the attacker subjects the public entity to liability for…