CLEARY GIACOBBE ALFIERI JACOBS, LLC SUCCESSFULLY ARGUED THE DOCTRINE OF RES JUDICATA BARRING PLAINTIFF FROM FILING AN AMENDED COMPLAINT

On March 9, 2026, the New Jersey Superior Court, Bergen County, denied Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend her Complaint to add aiding and abetting claims against individual Defendants under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), as well as claims for violations of the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) and the New Jersey Civil Rights Act (NJCRA).

Plaintiff, who is a police officer, was issued a Preliminary Notice of Disciplinary Action (PNDA) facing various charges, including misconduct for substantially altering a subordinate’s report without their knowledge. A departmental hearing was conducted in which Plaintiff presented witnesses and evidence in her defense, including claims of retaliation and discrimination. After a five-day hearing, the hearing officer upheld the disciplinary charges and recommended a twenty-one-day suspension. The Borough accepted the findings, and Plaintiff did not appeal them. Plaintiff thereafter sought to amend her Complaint, alleging that the individual Defendants were direct participants in, or abettors of, discriminatory or retaliatory actions.

Defendants argued, and the Court agreed, that the doctrine of res judicata barred Plaintiff’s proposed amendments because the claims against the individual Defendants had already been fully litigated in the prior disciplinary administrative hearing. Plaintiff had a full and fair opportunity to litigate her claims during the hearing and raised the same allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation that she thereafter sought to assert against the individual Defendants. Defendants further argued, and the Court agreed, that allowing Plaintiff to amend her Complaint would constitute an improper attempt to circumvent the administrative process and relitigate issues that had already been decided, thereby undermining the principles of judicial economy and finality.

The case was handled by Natalia R. Angeli, Esq., Partner.