Joanne Schryver et al. v. DeCesare: The widow and two children of a Harrington Park man struck and killed near a state highway improvement site accepted a $1.4 million settlement on Feb. 3 from the state, the site contractor and the driver of the car that hit him.

John Schryver, 50, pulled over on Route 17 in Ramsey at 11 p.m. on May 27, 1995 to change places with his wife. When he got out of the car, he was struck by the other car and killed.

Schryver's estate and survivors, represented by Gerald Baker, of Hoboken's Baker, Pedersen & Robbins, sued the other driver, Vito DeCesare of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. They also claimed that the state Department of Transportation and its road contractor, D'Annunzio & Sons Inc. of Mahwah, created a hazardous traffic configuration around the construction site and failed to provide sufficient traffic controls.

The suit, filed in Bergen County Superior Court, had included a claim for the family's emotional distress under Portee v. Jaffee 84 N.J.88 (1980).

The other driver, represented by Samuel Rosenberg, a partner with Parsippany's Reisman, Sharp, Kelsey & Brown, contended that there were no lights on the victim's car.

Evidence prepared by the state and the contractor showed that the construction site wasn't hazardous. The Department of Transportation was represented by Robert Muilenburg, a partner, and M. Faith Martin, an associate, with Morristown's McElroy, Deutsch & Mulvaney.

The contractor's lawyer was Arnold Mascali Jr., an associate with Roseland's Wolff & Samson.

Mascali and Muilenburg say the driver paid $900,000, and the contractor and DOT shared a $500,000 contribution.

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