New Jersey State Bar Ass'n v. Berman

11 N.J. Tax 433
CourtNew Jersey Tax Court
DecidedJanuary 14, 1991
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 11 N.J. Tax 433 (New Jersey State Bar Ass'n v. Berman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
New Jersey State Bar Ass'n v. Berman, 11 N.J. Tax 433 (N.J. Super. Ct. 1991).

Opinion

LASSER, P.J.T.C.,

The New Jersey State Bar Association (“NJSBA”), a nonprofit association of attorneys licensed to practice law in New Jersey, challenges the constitutional validity of the Fair Automobile Insurance Reform Act of 1990 (“fair act,” or “the act”), A. 1990, c. 8, as it applies to attorneys, and seeks to bar its enforcement against them.

The Attorney General, on behalf of defendants, has moved for summary judgment, and NJSBA has filed a cross-motion for summary judgment.

The parties agree that there are no facts in issue. The sole legal issue is the validity under the United States and New Jersey Constitutions of § 67 of the fair act on its face and as applied.

The fair act is a comprehensive revision of various laws governing automobile insurance, in an effort to provide an [438]*438“equitable, efficient and economical” motor vehicle insurance system. The New Jersey automobile insurance system has been the subject of examination and reform by New Jersey state government for almost 20 years. The New Jersey Automobile Reparation Reform Act was enacted, effective June 20, 1972, which made automobile liability insurance coverage compulsory and provided for personal injury protection coverage regardless of fault in certain cases. N.J.S.A. 17:29A-33 et seq. Pursuant to authority delegated by N.J.S.A. 17:29D-1 et seq., the Commissioner of Insurance adopted the New Jersey Automobile Insurance Plan, N.J.A.C. 11:3-1.1 et seq., effective January 31, 1972, e.g., R. 1972 d. 20. This plan is commonly referred to as the assigned risk plan. In 1974, the Joint Underwriting Association Act was enacted. N.J.S.A. 17:30B-1. Effective January 1, 1983, the New Jersey Automobile Insurance Reform Act of 1982 replaced the assigned risk plan with the New Jersey Automobile Full Insurance Underwriting Association, commonly referred to as the JUA. N.J.S.A. 17:29A-33 and :30E-1 et seq.

Enacted on March 12,1990, the fair act seeks to remedy what the Legislature perceived as an automobile insurance crisis, which includes a JUA deficit of approximately $3.3 billion. This deficit resulted in the JUA’s inability to pay claims and expenses.

In addition to changes in the automobile insurance system, the fair act provides for funding the JUA deficit from a broad variety of revenue-raising sources. These funding sources together with the estimated amounts to be raised are:

1. assessments on property casualty insurers, 1990-1992 ($1.1 billion);
2. motor vehicle registration fees, 1990-1996 ($935 million);
3. merit rate plan surcharges, 1990-1997 ($880 million);
4. automobile premiums surtax, 1990-1992 ($300 million);
5. $100 fees on occupations and professions, 1990-1996 ($66.7 million);
6. JUA premium tax, 1990-1992 ($3 million);
Total, 1990-1997, $3.3 billion.

The section of the fair act that imposes a fee on attorneys is § 67, which provides:

[439]*439The State Treasurer shall assess an annual fee in the amount of $100, payable by each person licensed to practice law in this State who has engaged in the practice of law for at least one year. Fees imposed pursuant to this section shall be payable on or before July 1 of each calendar year from 1990 through 1996. Payments are to be remitted to the treasurer and credited to the New Jersey Automobile Insurance Guaranty Fund created by section 23 of this 1990 amendatory and supplementary act.

The fiscal estimate to Assembly Bill 1 (1990), enacted as the fair act, estimated that the $100 attorney fee would generate $27.7 million toward reduction of the $3.3 billion deficit.

Although denominated a “fee” in the fair act, the $100 attorney fee is conceded by the parties to be a tax.

NJSBA contends that § 67 violates the federal and New Jersey equal protection guaranties, encroaches on the exclusive jurisdiction of the New Jersey Supreme Court to regulate the practice of law, violates due process and constitutes invalid special legislation. NJSBA also contends that it may bring this action under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 of the Civil Rights Act.

Defendants deny any federal or New Jersey constitutional violation and contend that states and state officials sued in their official capacities are not “persons” who can be sued under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983.

I.

Does § 67 Violate the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution?

It is well established that equal protection guaranties are measured using a three-tier test, with the nature of the right or class at issue determining which tier is applicable. Where a fundamental right, or suspect class is at issue, a statute must satisfy the standard of strict scrutiny under which the statute will be found to be constitutional if the means chosen are necessary to promote a compelling governmental interest. When a semi-suspect class, such as gender, is involved, the classification must “ ‘serve important governmental objectives and must substantially relate to the achievement of those objectives.’ ” Greenberg v. Kimmelman, 99 N.J. 552, [440]*440565, 494 A.2d 294 (1985) (quoting Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190, 197, 97 S.Ct. 451, 456, 50 L.Ed.2d 397 (1976)). Where a fundamental right, or suspect or semi-suspect class is not at issue, a classification is constitutional if it is rationally related to a legitimate governmental objective. Regan v. Taxation With Representation, 461 U.S. 540, 547, 103 S.Ct. 1997, 2001, 76 L.Ed.2d 129 (1983); Minnesota v. Clover Leaf Creamery Co., 449 U.S. 456, 461-466, 101 S.Ct. 715, 722-725, 66 L.Ed.2d 659 (1981); Vance v. Bradley, 440 U.S. 93, 97, 99 S.Ct. 939, 942, 59 L.Ed.2d 171 (1979); Dandridge v. Williams, 397 U.S. 471, 485, 90 S.Ct. 1153, 1161, 25 L.Ed.2d 491 (1970).

NJSBA does not contend that a suspect or semi-suspect class is in issue, but contends that fundamental rights under the First Amendment have been violated. NJSBA contends that the lobbying efforts of various legal associations in connection with insurance reform legislation is one reason this tax has been imposed on attorneys. This argument is based in large part on defendants’ reference in their brief to these lobbying efforts. However, defendants’ reference to the lobbying efforts of legal organizations is relied upon by them only to establish the interest in and relationship of attorneys to the automobile insurance system. There is no evidence of intent on the part of the Legislature to impose this tax on these lobbying efforts, nor has a burden been imposed upon the content of speech, and since there is no First Amendment infringement, I find that a fundamental right is not implicated.

Since there is no fundamental right, or suspect or semi-suspect class at issue, the rational relation test is applicable. Under the rational relation test, “the Equal Protection Clause is offended only if the statute’s classification ‘rests on grounds wholly irrelevant to the achievement of the State’s objective.’ ” Kadrmas v.

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11 N.J. Tax 433, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/new-jersey-state-bar-assn-v-berman-njtaxct-1991.