Palisades Safety & Insurance v. Bastien

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

LaVECCHIA, J.

This appeal concerns entitlement to personal injury protection (“PIP”) benefits pursuant to N.J.SA 39:6A-4. We are called on to consider whether a wife, who resides with her husband (the insured) but intentionally is not named on his policy of automobile liability insurance, may receive PIP benefits for injuries sustained while driving one of the insured vehicles. At issue is whether an insured’s resident spouse is precluded from benefits when the insured lies to the insurer about his marital status and represents that there were no other…