CAMDEN — Two South Jersey men cannot seek monetary damages in a lawsuit alleging New Jersey State Police have discriminated against members of motorcycle clubs, a federal judge has ruled.
James Coles and Joseph Ballinger are barred from any cash payment because they did not list their lawsuit as a potential asset in separate bankruptcy actions, ruled U.S. District Judge Jerome Simandle in Camden.
Coles, a member of the Pagans club from Gloucester City, and Ballinger, a Tribe member from Mantua, sued the State Police in November 2010. The men said a trooper ordered them to remove jackets with their “colors,” or club insignia, during a traffic stop in Burlington County in 2009.
Each man had previously filed for bankruptcy — Coles in March 2007, Ballinger in May 2010 — and Simandle said they had a legal obligation to inform their creditors of any potential payment from the civil-rights lawsuit.
According to Simandle’s decision, the men said they did not list the lawsuit in bankruptcy records because “they did not consider the case to be an asset.” But the judge noted they also signed papers seeking at least $150,000 in damages from the State Police.
“Coles and Ballinger may yet vindicate their rights, as they set out to do. But they may not recover more than what they swore they believed claims were worth,” Simandle ruled.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20130723/NEWS01/307230019/South-Jersey-motorcyclists-can-t-cash-from-lawsuit-against-State-Police
James Coles and Joseph Ballinger are barred from any cash payment because they did not list their lawsuit as a potential asset in separate bankruptcy actions, ruled U.S. District Judge Jerome Simandle in Camden.
Coles, a member of the Pagans club from Gloucester City, and Ballinger, a Tribe member from Mantua, sued the State Police in November 2010. The men said a trooper ordered them to remove jackets with their “colors,” or club insignia, during a traffic stop in Burlington County in 2009.
Each man had previously filed for bankruptcy — Coles in March 2007, Ballinger in May 2010 — and Simandle said they had a legal obligation to inform their creditors of any potential payment from the civil-rights lawsuit.
According to Simandle’s decision, the men said they did not list the lawsuit in bankruptcy records because “they did not consider the case to be an asset.” But the judge noted they also signed papers seeking at least $150,000 in damages from the State Police.
“Coles and Ballinger may yet vindicate their rights, as they set out to do. But they may not recover more than what they swore they believed claims were worth,” Simandle ruled.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20130723/NEWS01/307230019/South-Jersey-motorcyclists-can-t-cash-from-lawsuit-against-State-Police