NJ Appellate Law Blog

Where a Party Denies Agreeing to Arbitration, a Court, Not an Arbitrator, Must Decide Threshold Issues of the Validity of the Agreement

Knight v. Vivint Solar Developer, LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). In Goffe v. Foulke Mangagement Corp., 238 N.J. 191 (2019), the Supreme Court ruled that threshold issues...

The Third Circuit Shoots Down the Trump Campaign's Attack on the Pennsylvania Vote

Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Secretary, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, ___ Fed. Appx. ___ (3d Cir. 2020). This blog does not often cover non-precedential decisions of appellate courts. But...

Selection of Marijuana Alternative Treatment Center Operators Must Go Back to the Drawing Board

In re Medical Marijuana Alt. Treatment Ctrs. for Pangea Health & Wellness, LLC, 465 N.J. Super. 343 (App. Div. 2020). On this relatively quiet day before Thanksgiving, the Appellate Division...

Parochial School That Fired Pregnant Teacher for Premarital Sex May Have Violated the LAD

Crisitello v. St. Theresa School, 465 N.J. Super. 223 (App. Div. 2020). This decision under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq. ("LAD"), was the second time...

Headed for the Supreme Court: Do Auction Sales Contracts Require a Three-Day Attorney Review Provision?

Sullivan v. Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co., 465 N.J. Super. 243 (App. Div. 2020). As Judge Firko stated in the first sentence of her opinion in this case,...

A Forfeited Argument, Reviewed Nonetheless for Plain Error (Unlike a Waived Argument) Saves the Day for a Criminal Defendant

United States v. Brito, 979 F.3d 185 (3d Cir. 2020). As discussed here, waiver of an argument occurs when a party intentionally relinquishes or abandons a contention, while forfeiture is...

Personal Jurisdiction by New Jersey State Courts Over Out-of-State Counsel Admitted Pro Hac Vice in New Jersey Federal Court

Zahl v. Eastland, 465 N.J. Super. 79 (App. Div. 2020). [Disclosure: I have represented the defendants in this matter.] Judge Messano's opinion for the Appellate Division in this case today...

The Appellate Division Corrects Its Ruling in State v. Faber

State v. Faber, 465 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2020). As discussed here, last month, the Appellate Division affirmed defendant's Municipal Court convictions but remanded for correction of his sentence....

Underage Adult Host Can be Liable for Acts of Underage Guests Who Consume Alcohol at the Host's Home

Estate of Narleski v. Gomes, 244 N.J. 199 (2020). Near the beginning of his opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court in this case, Justice Albin summarized the issue: "Under our...

The "Queen of All Threshold Issues" in Arbitration Law

MZM Construction Co., Inc. v. New Jersey Building Laborers Statewide Benefit Funds, 974 F.3d 386 (3d Cir. 2020). Decisions about arbitration just keep on coming, from both New Jersey and...

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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....