The opinion
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the
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SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-3669-23
PRINSIPE L. AMANTE,
Petitioner-Appellant,
v.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES,
POLICE AND FIREMEN'S
RETIREMENT SYSTEM,
Respondent-Respondent.
Submitted October 1, 2025 – Decided November 18, 2025
Before Judges Currier and Berdote Byrne.
On appeal from the Board of Trustees of the Police and
Firemen's Retirement System, Department of the
Treasury, PFRS No. xx1415.
Limsky Mitolo, attorneys for appellant (Marcia J.
Mitolo, of counsel and on the briefs).
Nels J. Lauritzen, Director of Legal Affairs, and
Gebhardt & Kiefer, PC, attorneys for respondent
(Thomas R. Hower, Staff Attorney, on the brief).
PER CURIAM
Petitioner injured his knee responding to a Code Blue emergency distress
call while working as a corrections officer and applied for accidental disability
retirement benefits (ADRB), pursuant to N.J.S.A. 43:16A-7. Defendant Board
of Trustees of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (the Board) found
that the incident occurred during the performance of petitioner's job duties and
was not "undesigned and unexpected" as required under Richardson v. Bd. of
Trs., Police & Firemen's Ret. Sys., 192 N.J. 189, 212-13 (2007).
Petitioner appeals from the Board's denial of his ADRB application.
Based on our careful review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm.
Petitioner testified that while he was working, a Code Blue emergency
distress was called in the medical infirmary, which meant that either "a staff
member, [or] civilian . . . need[s] immediate assistance." He stated "the response
[]called for is a running response by [all officers] available."
Petitioner, along with "five or six other officers," was running through the
main corridor to respond to the distress call when he fell on the concrete floor
and injured his right knee. Several years later, petitioner applied for ADRB.
After the Board denied the application, the matter was transferred to the Office
of Administrative Law.
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Following an evidentiary hearing, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)
concluded that petitioner's incident satisfied the undesigned and unexpected
prong of the Richardson test and, therefore, he was qualified for ADRB. The
ALJ reversed the Board's decision. On June 11, 2024, the Board issued a Final
Administrative Determination rejecting the ALJ's recommendation and denying
petitioner's application for ADRB. The Board quoted Richardson and stated that
"incurring an injury while running in response to an emergency call in a prison
is not 'an unanticipated consequence of an external event if that consequence is
extraordinary or unusual in common experience.'"
Our review of an administrative agency's determination is limited.
Allstars Auto. Grp., Inc. v. N.J. Motor Vehicle Comm'n, 234 N.J. 150, 157
(2018) (citing Russo v. Bd. of Trs., Police & Firemen's Ret. Sys., 206 N.J. 14,
27 (2011)). "[A]gencies have 'expertise and superior knowledge . . . in their
specialized fields.'" Hemsey v. Bd. of Trs., Police & Firemen's Ret. Sys., 198
N.J. 215, 223 (2009) (alteration in original) (quoting In re License Issued to
Zahl, 186 N.J. 341, 353 (2006)). We will "not substitute [our] own judgment
for the agency's even though [a] court might have reached a different result." In
re Carter, 191 N.J. 474, 483 (2007) (quoting Greenwood v. State Police Training
Ctr., 127 N.J. 500, 513 (1992)).
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We "review[] agency decisions under an arbitrary and capricious
standard." Zimmerman v. Sussex Cnty. Educ. Servs. Comm'n, 237 N.J. 465,
475 (2019). "An agency's determination on the merits 'will be sustained unless
there is a clear showing that it is arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable, or that
it lacks fair support in the record.'" Saccone v. Bd. of Trs., Police & Firemen's
Ret. Sys., 219 N.J. 369, 380 (2014) (quoting Russo, 206 N.J. at 27). An agency's
interpretation of the law is reviewed de novo. Russo, 206 N.J. at 27.
On appeal, petitioner contends the Board erred in (1) determining his fall
at work, while running to an emergency call, was not an undesigned and
unexpected event, and (2) denying his application for ADRB.
A member of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System is entitled to
ADRB if
the member is permanently and totally disabled as a
direct result of a traumatic event occurring during and
as a result of the performance of his regular or assigned
duties and that such disability was not the result of the
member's willful negligence and that such member is
mentally or physically incapacitated for the
performance of his usual duty and of any other
available duty in the department which his employer is
willing to assign to him.
[N.J.S.A. 43:16A-7(a)(1).]
In Richardson, the New Jersey Supreme Court explained:
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[T]o obtain accidental disability benefits, a member
must prove:
1. that he is permanently and totally disabled;
2. as a direct result of a traumatic event that is
a. identifiable as to time and place,
b. undesigned and unexpected, and
c. caused by a circumstance external to
the member (not the result of pre-
existing disease that is aggravated or
accelerated by the work);
3. that the traumatic event occurred during and as a
result of the member's regular or assigned duties;
4. that the disability was not the result of the
member's willful negligence; and
5. that the member is mentally or physically
incapacitated from performing his usual or any
other duty.
[Richardson, 192 N.J. at 212-13.]
The Richardson Court found, to be "undesigned or unexpected," the event
at issue may be either "an unintended external event or [] an unanticipated
consequence of an intended external event if that consequence is extraordinary
or unusual in common experience." 192 N.J. at 201 (quoting Russo v. Tchrs.'
Pension & Annuity Fund, 62 N.J. 142, 154 (1973)). "[W]hen all that appears is
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that the employee was doing his usual work in the usual way" the "undesigned
or unexpected" element is not satisfied. Ibid. (quoting Russo, 62 N.J. at 154).
"To properly apply the Richardson standard . . . the Board and a reviewing
court must carefully consider not only the member's job responsibilities and
training, but all aspects of the event itself. No single factor governs the
analysis." Mount v. Bd. of Trs., Police & Firemen's Ret. Sys., 233 N.J. 402, 427
(2018).
In Moran v. Board of Trustees, Police & Firemen's Retirement System,
438 N.J. Super. 346, 354 (App. Div. 2014), we found the element was satisfied
when a "combination of unusual circumstances . . . . [F]orced [the appellant] to
carry out his paramount duty to rescue fire victims" leading to his injury. The
unusual circumstances included "the failure of the truck unit to arrive, and the
discovery of victims trapped inside a fully engulfed burning building, at a point
when [the appellant] did not have available to him the tools that would ordinarily
be used to break down the door." Ibid.
Importantly, as the Richardson Court stated:
the fact that a member is injured while performing his
ordinary duties does not disqualify him from receiving
accidental disability benefits; some injuries sustained
during ordinary work effort will pass muster and others
will not. The polestar of the inquiry is whether, during
the regular performance of his job, an unexpected
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happening, not the result of pre-existing disease alone
or in combination with the work, has occurred and
directly resulted in the permanent and total disability of
the member.
[Richardson, 192 N.J. at 214 (emphasis added).]
Here, petitioner has not demonstrated an "unexpected happening" that
caused him to injure his knee. He testified he responded to multiple Code Blue
calls during his career, running to each one. The evidence reflects petitioner
was performing his usual job duties when he was injured. Responding to a Code
Blue call was a required duty of a correction officer's job and not an unexpected
event in that line of work.
We are satisfied the Board's decision denying petitioner's application for
ADRB was supported by the credible evidence in the record and based on the
applicable statute and prevailing law. Its final decision was not arbitrary,
capricious, or unreasonable.
Affirmed.
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