The Supreme Court has issued one opinion, involving a guaranty of indebtedness, and the Appellate Division one published ruling, under the Victim's Assistance and Survivor Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-13 to -21 ("VASPA"). Here's what they were about....
On Thursday, December 4, judges on Part C of the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Wronko v. Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ("MCSPCA"). The case arises under the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. ("OPRA"), and the common law right of access....
The week of Thanksgiving and the week preceding it saw one Supreme Court opinion and four published rulings from the Appellate Division. Catching up, here are summaries....
The Supreme Court announced that it has granted leave to appeal in Lowe v. Audet. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Are insurance brokers exempt from liability under the ‘learned professionals' exception to the Consumer Fraud Act?" The Law Division granted a defense motion to dismiss. A two-judge Appellate Division panel affirmed in an unpublished per curiam opinion....
C.J.S. v. A.S., 2025 N.J. Super LEXIS _______ (App. Div. Nov. 18, 2025). [Disclosure: I represented the successful plaintiff in this appeal.] The Victim's Assistance and Survivor Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-13 to -21 ("VASPA"), was enacted to protect against, among other things, cyber-harassment. Only someone "who is not eligible for a restraining order as a ‘victim of domestic violence' as defined by . . . [the Protection of Domestic Violence Act , N.J.S.A. 2C:25:17-35 ("PDVA"]" may invoke VASPA protection....
On Thursday, November 13, judges on Part C of the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Arminio v. Monroe Township Board of Education. The case raises several issues under the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq. ("OPMA")....
Johnson v. Wilkerson, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Chief Justice Rabner's opinion for a unanimous Court follows on the Court's September 19, 2025 Order that upheld a ruling by Judge Sabatino in an emergent appeal by a candidate for a Roselle council seat. That Order stated that an opinion would follow....
The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in three new matters. Two of them involve questions certified to the Court by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, under Rule 2:12A. It is relatively rare for the Court to receive, and rarer for it to grant, petitions to decide certified questions, and it appears unprecedented for the Court to have granted review in two such cases at the same time. The other new case is a grant of leave to appeal to address one of the same issues presented in one of the certified question matters....
This week saw one case decided by the Supreme Court and two published opinions of the Appellate Division. The Supreme Court case, decided by a 6-1 vote, presented an ex post facto issue arising out of amendments to the statute governing parole. The two Appellate Division decisions entailed more "core" criminal law issues. Here are summaries of those cases:...
State v. Cromedy, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). The Graves Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), prescribes a minimum term of incarceration for firearm-related offenses under certain subsections of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5, as well as a mandatory period of parole ineligibility. In this case, the issue was whether a weapons offense conviction of violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(j) is covered by the Graves Act. The Law Division and the Appellate Division each held that it was. The Supreme Court reversed in a unanimous opinion by Justice Noriega....
