Insurance company suing county, DA over auto accident

A large insurance company is taking Cayuga County and its district attorney to court over a car accident that took place this year in New Jersey.

The county received notice earlier this month that Allstate Insurance Company is suing the county and District Attorney Jon Budelmann for $9,494 over a Jan. 23 accident. According to the complaint, Budelmann was driving a county-owned vehicle at the time on Interstate 80 in Warren County, N.J., when his vehicle and that of Jeanne Zecchine collided.

According to the complaint filed Sept. 4 in Warren County, N.J. court, the requested sum would cover damage to Zecchine's vehicle. Allstate, Zecchine's insurance provider, will also seek court and attorney fees as part of the suit.

Budelmann said Monday that Zecchine's vehicle swerved into his lane and struck his vehicle. He was traveling on that highway after attending a New York State District Attorneys Association meeting in New York City, he said.

This is the first Budelmann has heard of the accident since the county handed the claim to the insurance company in January, he said.

“I assumed the insurance company had been handling it,” Budelmann said.

Budelmann does not have a personal, county-owned vehicle, he said, and was issued the vehicle for that specific meeting.

The county has 35 days to respond to the complaint.


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Cost of living and doing business pushing people to leave N.J.

CENTRAL JERSEY — Fanklin resident Jim Morano and his wife recently acquired a home in South Carolina after his wife's sister and mother passed away.The couple plans on keeping the home as a winter getaway, but they're also wondering whether it should be their permanent residence because of New Jersey's income-tax rates, among the highest in the nation. Both own small businesses.

“We're kind of scratching our head,” said Morano, who has a Ph.D. in food science and a master's degree in business administration. “If you already own a residence outside of New Jersey, at some point in time, the differential is going to pay you to leave.”

Affordability issues facing businesses and residents in New Jersey will be the focus of an Oct. 2 forum at Raritan Valley Community College sponsored by the Somerset County Business Partnership along with the Courier News and MyCentralJersey.com. Sponsors also include the college, Allstate Insurance and Affinity Federal Credit Union.Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie and Independent candidate Chris Daggett both are expected to attend. Gov. Jon Corzine also has been invited.


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