Politics & Government

GWB Scandal Spurs Six to File Class Action Lawsuit

One woman claims she was so distraught by traffic that it caused her to vomit.

Six Bergen County residents filed a class action lawsuit against Gov. Chris Christie and the players involved in a recent scandal surrounding the governor Thursday, claiming that September lane closures near the George Washington Bridge caused them undue stress.

The sextet, which is suing for an undisclosed amount, includes a then-panicked Fort Lee woman who was so agonized by snarled traffic that her husband—and co-litigant—had to pull their car over to allow the 50-year-old woman to vomit, according to stories in the Post and Daily News.

Joy and Eli Galicki, owners of a Midtown Manhattan jewelry supply business, told the Daily News that the surprise lane closures added an hour and 10 minutes to their typically 20 minute commute.

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The six plaintiffs are Zachary, Joy and Eli Galicki and Elizabeth Psaltos of Fort Lee; Robert Arnold of Leonia; and Kim Joscelyn of Edgewater, the Post reported.

“This was just a reprehensible, outrageous situation caused by political motivation,” said filing attorney Rosemarie Arnold.

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It was unclear if Rosemarie Arnold is related to plaintiff Robert Arnold.

The complaint is aimed at the state of New Jersey, Christie, Bridget Anne Kelly, the Port Authority and former execs David Wildstein and Bill Baroni.

Gov. Christie apologized Thursday for the role a top staffer played in purposely creating days of choking traffic jams at the Fort Lee entrance to the George Washington Bridge, which is commonly thought of as the country’s busiest.

Damning emails released Wednesday revealed that Christie’s deputy chief of staff, Ramsey native Bridget Anne Kelly, worked with a Port Authority executive to orchestrate punitive lane closures at Fort Lee’s entrance to America’s busiest bridge.

The governor traveled to Fort Lee Thursday afternoon to apologize personally to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich.


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