# Frugis v. Bracigliano

> Supreme Court of New Jersey · July 28, 2003 · 177 N.J. 250

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9691642

## Case

- **Full name:** Brian Frugis and Susan Frugis, Individually and as Guardians for Their Minor Child, B.F., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Samuel Bracigliano, the Borough of Elmwood Park and John Doe I & II (Individuals Whose Identities Are as Yet Unknown), Defendants, and the Elmwood Park Board of Education, Defendant-Respondent; Robert and Jeanne Hutzel, Individually, and as Guardians for Their Minor Child, R.H., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Samuel Bracigliano, the Borough of Elmwood Park and John Doe I & II (Individuals Whose Identities Are as Yet Unknown), Defendants, and the Elmwood Park Board of Education, Defendant-Respondent
- **Court:** Supreme Court of New Jersey
- **Decided:** July 28, 2003
- **Citations:** 177 N.J. 250; 827 A.2d 1040; 2003 N.J. LEXIS 860
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Coleman
- **Judges:** Albin, Coleman
- **Cited by:** 173 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9691642

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- stating that school personnel who observed principal’s sexually suggestive behavior with children “had an independent obligation to report directly to DYFS” and their “failure to do so, standing alone, was evidence of negligence”
- noting, in a personal injury case, that "[a] plaintiff must present evidence that there is (1) `a reasonable probability that his injuries will impair his future earning capacity' and (2) `sufficient factual matter upon which the quantum of diminishment can reasonably be deter…
- holding promulgating policies to report abuse and implementing training programs to ensure the effectiveness of said policies promotes the safety and welfare of children, and is consistent with a school's parens patriae role
- noting that the violation of an administrative regulation requiring school rooms to have unobstructed safety-vision panels was relevant evidence of negligent conduct, although it was not proof of negligence per se
- discussing lack of structure for school employees who observed a principal’s “questionable and deviant” behavior to report observations

## Opinion text

*288 COLEMAN, J.,
concurring in the judgment.
I concur in the judgment of the Court. I would not undertake to write the jury charge, but would instead refer the matter to the Civil Jury Charge Committee. An appropriate jury charge will eliminate the necessity of bifurcating the liability trial to determine fault and then determine the percentage of fault of the respective parties.
For affirmance in part/reversal in part/remandment—Chief Justice PORITZ and Justices COLEMAN, LONG, VERNIERO, LaVECCHIA, ZAZZALI, and ALBIN—7.
Opposed—None.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9691642. Public record. Not legal advice.