New Jersey's rule: barred only when you exceed the combined fault
Under NJSA 2A:15-5.1, "contributory negligence shall not bar recovery... if such negligence was not greater than the negligence of the person against whom recovery is sought or was not greater than the combined negligence of the persons against whom recovery is sought." Damages are reduced in proportion to the claimant's own degree of negligence — but only once that negligence actually exceeds 50% of the combined total does recovery get barred entirely.
The 50/51 distinction, precisely
A claimant found exactly 50% at fault still recovers half of their damages under New Jersey's rule, because their negligence was not greater than the combined negligence of those they're suing. A claimant found 51% at fault recovers nothing at all.
Worked example
Someone with $100,000 in damages, found 49% at fault, recovers $51,000. That same person, found 50% at fault instead, still recovers $50,000. Found at 51%, that same person recovers nothing at all.
A genuinely distinctive wrinkle: the 60% joint-and-several line
New Jersey layers a separate, notably higher threshold on top of the 51% recovery bar. Under NJSA 2A:15-5.3, a defendant found to be at least 60% at fault can be held liable for the entire damage award, not just their own share. A defendant found below 60% is generally responsible only for their own proportional percentage of the damages. This 60% threshold is genuinely higher than the 50% line some neighboring states use for the same kind of joint-and-several trigger.
A real carve-out for public entities
Under NJSA 59:9-3.1, a New Jersey public entity's liability is capped at its own percentage of fault, no matter how high that percentage climbs — even if it reaches or exceeds the 60% threshold that would otherwise trigger full joint-and-several liability for a private defendant. A plaintiff suing a public entity is limited to collecting only that entity's own assessed share.