Intentional Tort Claim May Survive Even Where LAD Claim Fails

Londono v. The City of Elizabeth, 2010 WL 3720299 (App. Div., September 17, 2010) – In this case, the Appellate Division refused to dismiss a clerk’s battery claim against a municipal judge, even though her sexual harassment claim against the judge under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) was dismissed on summary judgment. Because the judge was neither her employer, nor could he be an aider and abettor to his own conduct, her sexual harassment claim against him under the LAD failed. However, following established New Jersey precedent, the court found that a claim for battery can exist independent of the LAD claim and allowed that claim to proceed.