[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Lavallette. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Officers and employees — See Ch. 45.
Whenever an officer, employee or official of the Borough of Lavallette is made a defendant in any action or legal proceeding arising out of or incidental to the performance of his/her duties, including actions or legal proceedings to which N.J.S.A. 40A:14-155 and N.J.S.A. 40A:14-28 apply, the Borough Council of the Borough of Lavallette shall provide the officer, employee or official with the necessary defense or, at its option, the means for the defense of such action or proceeding subject to the guidelines set forth in § 22-3 below, and shall hold said officer, employee or official harmless from any payment, settlement or judgment resulting from the proceeding, except in the following situations:
A.
Where the action has been brought by the Borough itself
against said officer, employee or official (unless otherwise required
by law); or
B.
Where the officer, employee or official has been specifically
found, by the trier of act in the proceedings, civil or criminal,
to have acted with actual fraud, actual malice or willful misconduct.
[Amended 9-27-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-16 (1088)]
A.
Any defense
and/or indemnification provided pursuant to this chapter shall be
subject to the limitations and provisions of the New Jersey Tort Claims
Act, N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 et seq.
B.
The Borough
Clerk shall make available a notice of tort claim form to any member
of the public seeking to file a notice of tort claim against the Borough
of Lavallette, its elected or appointed officials or employees pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 59:8-4 and/or N.J.S.A. 59:8-6. The notice of tort claim
shall be considered to the amended automatically and without further
action in the event that N.J.S.A. 59:8-4 and/or N.J.S.A. 59:8-6 are
amended by the New Jersey State Legislature, or a court of competent
jurisdiction renders a decision adding to, subtracting from, amending
or explaining the content thereof at any time.
A.
The fees for legal services rendered in defense shall
be reasonable and shall not exceed the sum of $150 per hour and shall
not exceed the total sum of $2,000 without prior approval of the Borough
Council, in any action exclusive of appeals from the determination
and judgments of said courts to any appellate courts. The fees for
legal services to be rendered for municipal officers, officials and
employees in cases of appeals to upper courts shall first be negotiated
and approved by the Borough Council after it has first approved the
taking of any appeal by the officer, official or employee involved.
B.
Written notice of the commencement of such suit and
the name and address of the proposed defense attorney, if any, shall
be submitted to the Clerk immediately upon service of a complaint
upon the official or employee.
C.
The notice referred to in Subsection B above shall include the proposed attorney's rates and charges.
D.
The proposed attorney shall agree in writing to be
bound by the fee structure herein established subject only to exceptional
or unusual circumstances.
E.
The bill submitted by the defense attorney, after
services have been rendered, shall be completely detailed, including
the dates of service, the nature of the services, the hourly charges
and total charges for services and the nature and amount of out-of-pocket
expenses, if any.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon
adoption and shall apply to all legal proceedings instituted after
adoption, regardless of when the subject matter of the legal proceeding
arose.
