Kubert v. Best
New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division
75 A.3d 1214 (2013)
Linda and David Kubert (plaintiffs) were severely injured, each losing both legs, when their motorcycle collided with a truck driven by 18-year-old Kyle Best (defendant), who had received a text message from Shannon Colonna (defendant) moments before impact after texting with her most of the day; the message's content was unknown. The Kuberts sued both Best and Colonna, settled with Best before trial, and Colonna moved to dismiss, arguing she owed no duty since she didn't know Best was driving when she texted and there was no evidence he actually looked at the message just before the crash. The trial judge agreed and dismissed the claims against Colonna, and the Kuberts appealed.
Whether an individual sending a text message owes a limited duty of care to a third party when the sender has actual knowledge or special reason to know, from prior experience, that the recipient of the message will view the text while driving and, as a result, may create a foreseeable risk of harm to the third person.