Judges

Appellate Jurisdiction and the Duty of Candor to the Court– All in a Four-Page Opinion

K.L.G. v. D.M.., 2011 WL 2321404 (App. Div. June 29, 2011). Rule 2:9-1(a) provides that once a notice of appeal is filed, "supervision and control" of the case pass to the...

Bailment, Not Replevin, is The Potential Cause of Action When Seeking Return of Property Validly Seized and Retained by the State

Voellinger v. Dow, 420 N.J. Super. 480 (App. Div. 2011). In this case, the State seized property pursuant to a valid warrant in 1985. Not until 2007, when the property became potentially...

Improper Remarks in Trial Summation Warranted New Trial on Damages Only

Risko v. Thompson Muller Automotive Group, Inc., 206 N.J. 506 (2011). This case came to the Supreme Court because of improper remarks made by plaintiff's counsel in his trial summation....

Municipal Land Use Notice That Described Size of Large Retail Store Need Not Have Stated That Store Was a Wal-Mart

Shakoor Supermarkets, Inc. v. Old Bridge Tp. Planning Bd., 420 N.J. Super. 193 (App. Div. 2011). This case dealt with the issue of how specific a public notice of a development...

Judge Stern Retires

Last night, I attended the retirement dinner for Judge Stern, who turned 70 last week. Among the over 300 attendees were current and former Supreme Court Justices, sitting and retired...

Unwarranted Hysteria

State v. Timmendequas, 2011 WL 2326967 (App. Div. June 14, 2011). Talk radio personalities and others whose job it is to create controversy or to enhance the public's fears have...

When Can a Prevailing Defendant in a Fee-Shifting Case Where Some, But Not All, Claims Were Frivolous Get Attorneys' Fees?

Fox v. Vice, 131 S.Ct. 2205 (2011). The Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §1983, includes a fee-shifting provision, 42 U.S.C. §1988. Most often, it is a prevailing plaintiff who seeks...

"Law of the Case" Requires Appointed Counsel in Municipal Court for Defendant Whom Appellate Courts Had Found Was Indigent

State v. Mierzwa, 420 N.J. Super. 207 (App. Div. 2011). This case involved a municipal court matter that was first tried on July 27, 2006, nearly five years ago. On appeal from a conviction...

Two Lessons in Reading Title 39

Perrelli v. Pastorelle, 206 N.J. 193 (2011); Voss v. Tranquilino, 206 N.J. 93 (2011). Yesterday, the Supreme Court decided two cases involving two different sub-sections of N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.5. Both cases...

Hello, Newman

Here's an unusual pair of decisions. Laurence S. Newman married Lynda in 1985. They were divorced in 1994. Mr. Newman then married Debra in 1995. That marriage ended in divorce in...

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