NJ Appellate Law Blog

Attorneys' Fees Under the Common Law Right of Access

Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC v. Township of Neptune, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Prudent practitioners who file cases under the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et...

Relief From Judgment Under Rule 4:50-1(f) in a Tax Sale Foreclosure Case

BV001 REO Blocker, LLC v. 53 West Somerset Properties, LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Judge Ostrer's opinion in this case, issued today, may become the new "go-to"...

Incarceration is Not a Per Se Bar to Unemployment Benefits

Haley v. Board of Review, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). Here are the basic facts of this appeal as Justice Solomon summarized them in his opinion for the Court in this...

Painting Over Lines on a Paved Street is Not "Obstructing" the Street

State v. Williams, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Defendant was convicted in Municipal Court for violating an ordinance that stated that "No person shall unnecessarily obstruct any...

Justice Pierre-Louis's First Opinion for the Court

State v. Outland, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). This unanimous ruling was the first opinion authored by Justice Pierre-Louis. It was a robbery case in which defendant, who had a prior...

Two FDCPA Opinions From Judge Porter

Moyer v. Patenaude & Felix, A.P.C., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2021); Klotz v. Celentano Stadtmauer and Walentowicz LLP, ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2021). These two opinions, both by...

Successor Liability (or Non-Liability) on a Commercial Lease

160 West Broadway Associates, LP v. 1 Memorial Drive, LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Judge Messano issued this opinion for the Appellate Division today. Though there were...

The Direct Action Statute and Arbitration

Crystal Point Condominium Ass'n v. Kinsale Ins. Co., 466 N.J. Super. 471 (App. Div. 2021). Plaintiff filed a construction defect litigation regarding balconies and slabs at plaintiff's 42-story condominium building....

Another Mass Tort Case Headed for the Supreme Court?

Hrymoc v. Ethicon, Inc., 467 N.J. Super. 42 (App. Div. 2021). This lengthy opinion by Judge Sabatino reversed trial verdicts for plaintiffs in two product liability cases involving pelvic mesh...

Unemployment is Not "Substituted Employment," and Unemployment Benefits Are Not "Pay or Salary"

Ciripompa v. Bd. of Educ. of Borough of Bound Brook, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Judge Gummer well summarized her opinion for the Appellate Division today in its...

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The Second and Third Published Appellate Division Decisions of the Current Term

As September turned to October, the Appellate Division issued its second and third published opinions of the Term. One was a decision by Judge Vinci in a civil appeal. The other ruling, in a criminal appeal, was authored by Judge Perez Friscia....

Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week: Did it Violate a Class Action Settlement That Barred Mass Opt-Outs to Allow Opt-Outs From a Marketing Campaign That Solicited Opt-outs?

On Tuesday, September 30, judges on Part G of the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Esposito v. Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless. The case follows from a $100 million nationwide class action settlement that had required class members who decided to exclude themselves from the settlement and potentially pursue their own litigation against Verizon to opt out individually, and barred mass opt-outs. However, Murphy Advocates, LLC, a Colorado law firm conducted a marketing campaign to create a mass opt-out that attracted about 11,000 class members who responded to Murphy that they wished to opt out....

A Pair of New Criminal Appeals for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in two new cases. Both are criminal appeals. One is from a published opinion of the Appellate Division, while the other is from an unpublished per curiam decision by a three-judge panel....

Can a Plaintiff in a Civil Case Refuse to Testify at Trial After Being Served With a Defense Notice in Lieu of Subpoena and Having Been Ordered to Testify by the Trial Judge? An Anniversary

On this date in 2005, the Supreme Court decided Gonzalez v. Safe & Sound Sec. Corp., 185 N.J. 100 (2005). The case involved a plaintiff who was shot in an apartment building in Atlantic City, which left him paralyzed. He brought a negligence suit against a number of defendants, including Atlantic City Housing & Urban Renewal Associates ("ACHURA"), the owner of the apartment building....