04.02.2020

Filing Delay Bars Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim

In re Estate of Hursa, A-4801-17T1, 2020 WL 914706, (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Feb. 26, 2020).

The plaintiff and her sister were the co-administrators of their mother’s estate.  The sister had lived in the mother’s house from 2007 until her death in 2012.  The plaintiff sued for breach of fiduciary duty, declaratory judgment, unjust enrichment, conspiracy, and ouster.  The trial court found that the plaintiff’s claims were barred because the plaintiff became an administrator in 2009 but did not file her complaint alleging wrongful occupancy until 2016 and thus exceeded the limitations period.  The Appellate Division affirmed this aspect of the ruling.