jennifer.moran@wilsonelser.com

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Jennifer Moran has significant experience defending general liability matters in New Jersey state and federal courts. She represents a broad client base, including commercial property owners, property and construction managers, construction companies, manufacturers, restaurants, hotels, golf courses and telecommunications companies. Jennifer is known for her ability to conduct swift investigations for new claims, provide substantive, timely reporting and communications with clients and insurers throughout a case. She always listens to the client’s needs and incorporates those needs with available strategies including early resolution.

Much of her experience comes from defending claims against one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the New York Metro area and large-scale residential properties throughout New Jersey. While defending claims, conducting pre-suit investigations, and working with the client’s employees, legal department and insurance carrier, Jennifer stays focused on the cost-benefit factors critical to her client’s bottom line.

Jennifer also provides pro bono services to juvenile non-citizen immigrants through the Rutgers Law Clinic.

    Education

    • Rutgers School of Law - Newark (J.D., 2011)
    • Stockton University (B.S., 1992)

    Bar Admissions

    • New Jersey

    Court Admissions

    • Supreme Court of New Jersey
    • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey

    Professional Affiliations

    • New Jersey State Bar Association 

    Awards & Honors

    • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® Ones to Watch™, 2024-2025
    • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch in the area of Commercial Litigation, 2021-2023
    • Selected for inclusion in Rising Stars for New Jersey Super Lawyers, 2020-2021

Events

Jennifer Moran has significant experience defending general liability matters in New Jersey state and federal courts. She represents a broad client base, including commercial property owners, property and construction managers, construction companies, manufacturers, restaurants, hotels, golf courses and telecommunications companies. Jennifer is known for her ability to conduct swift investigations for new claims, provide substantive, timely reporting and communications with clients and insurers throughout a case. She always listens to the client’s needs and incorporates those needs with available strategies including early resolution.

Much of her experience comes from defending claims against one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the New York Metro area and large-scale residential properties throughout New Jersey. While defending claims, conducting pre-suit investigations, and working with the client’s employees, legal department and insurance carrier, Jennifer stays focused on the cost-benefit factors critical to her client’s bottom line.

Jennifer also provides pro bono services to juvenile non-citizen immigrants through the Rutgers Law Clinic.

Jennifer L. Moran

Moran Quashes $1.75 Million Demand with Summary Judgment Win for Commercial Property Owner

Jennifer Moran (Partner-Madison, NJ) obtained summary judgment in the New Jersey Superior Court, Essex County, for Wilson Elser’s commercial property owner client in a premises liability matter. The plaintiff alleged he was injured in a fall after reporting to work at a warehouse property owned by the client, where his employer was a tenant. The plaintiff's complaint alleged that recurrent flooding, inadequate drainage, and the absence of guardrails rendered the loading dock area unsafe, and that our client, as landlord, failed to maintain the premises in a reasonably safe condition.

Applying the duty framework in Hopkins v. Fox & Lazo Realtors and the proximate cause principles in Vega by Muniz v. Piedilato, the court found that the plaintiff's own testimony established that no condition on the ledge of the loading dock caused his fall, and that the alleged drainage, known flooding, and lack of guardrail were too attenuated from the actual mechanism of the fall to establish proximate cause. The court further held that the plaintiff’s expert report did not create a genuine issue of material fact.

Ultimately, the court granted Wilson Elser’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint against the client with prejudice. The decision came just weeks before the scheduled September 2026 trial date, successfully denying the plaintiff’s $1,750,000 demand.

Additionally, our client’s third-party complaint against the tenant (plaintiff’s employer) sought to recover defense fees and indemnification. The third-party defendant’s motion for summary judgment seeking to dismiss the third-party complaint was pending while Wilson Elser’s motion was being decided. That motion is now moot. Of note, however, the tenant’s carrier had been paying defense fees and costs during the pending litigation.

Jennifer L. Moran

Moran and Cyr Secure Summary Judgment in High-Exposure Premises Liability Case

​Jennifer Moran (Partner-Madison, NJ) and Brianna Cyr (Associate-Madison, NJ) secured summary judgment in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County, on behalf of Wilson Elser’s client, a retail convenience store corporation (the store), in a high-exposure premises liability case involving a $1.5 million settlement demand and more than $1 million in claimed medical expenses. The plaintiff alleged permanent disability, including Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, after a slip and fall at the store. Her claimed damages were supported by extensive medical treatment, including multiple surgeries and a spinal stimulator implant. After nearly three years of contentious litigation, the matter was set for trial, with the plaintiff consistently refusing to negotiate below a seven-figure settlement demand.

Throughout the litigation, plaintiff's counsel sought to expand discovery, advance new liability and damages theories, and capitalize on deposition testimony from a former store employee who claimed the facility’s floors were "slippery even when dry" and that cleaning protocols were inconsistent. The plaintiff also relied on photographs purportedly showing debris and unsanitary conditions throughout the store, attempting to link the conditions to the alleged incident.

Jennifer and her team remained committed to a carefully executed defense strategy that culminated in a strategically timed motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability. They successfully demonstrated that the former employee's observations were made months after the incident and were therefore irrelevant to the condition of the premises at the time of the plaintiff's fall. They also established that the plaintiff could not identify what caused her to slip, could not prove how long any alleged hazardous condition existed, and relied on photographs that did not depict the area where the incident occurred.

Relying on controlling New Jersey law, including Nisivoccia v. Glass Gardens and Davis v. Brickman, Jennifer argued that the plaintiff's theory, if permitted by the court, would effectively impose strict liability on retail stores for any alleged “slippery” condition, without evidence of a dangerous condition or notice. The court adopted this reasoning, finding that the plaintiff's bare assertions and generalized complaints were insufficient as a matter of law, and granted summary judgment in the client's favor, dismissing all claims with prejudice.

Jennifer L. Moran and Brianna L. Cyr

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