SYLLABUS

(This syllabus is not part of the opinion of the Court. It has been prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the convenience of the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Supreme Court. Please note that, in the interests of brevity, portions of any opinion may not have been summarized).

Halina Jablonowska v. David P. Suther (A-9-07)

Argued January 8, 2008 -- Decided June 10, 2008

LaVECCHIA, J., writing for a majority of the Court.

The issue before the Court is whether the verbal threshold provision in the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act of 1998 (AICRA), which acts as a limitation on an insured‘s ability to sue an errant operator of a motor vehicle, can apply to bar an insured from maintaining a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress pursuant to the liability theory announced by the Court in Portee v. Jaffee. Under Portee, a plaintiff may recover for the severe emotional harm that may be expected from having perceived the death of, or serious injury to, a spouse or intimate family relation.