NJ Appellate Law Blog

Tort Claims Act Notice Need Not be Served on Private Government Contractor

Gomes v. County of Monmouth, 444 N.J. Super. 479 (App. Div. 2016). The Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 et seq. ("TCA"), requires that a plaintiff who intends to sue a...

No Private Nuisance Liability for Natural Conditions

Scannavino v. Walsh, 445 N.J. Super. 162 (App. Div. 2016). Near the start of this opinion, issued today, Judge Leone concisely summarized the whole case and its outcome. "Plaintiff alleges...

When Can a Custodial Parent Relocate Out of State With the Children, and What if The Divorcing Parties Have a Non-Relocation Agreement?

Bisbing v. Bisbing, 445 N.J. Super. 207 (App. Div. 2016). N.J.S.A. 9:2-2 provides that children of divorced parents cannot be removed from the jurisdiction of the Superior Court "without the...

Shareholder Quorum Requirement Cannot be Altered by Changing the Bylaws

Sterling Laurel Realty, LLC v. Laurel Gardens Co-Op, Inc., 444 N.J. Super. 470 (App. Div. 2016). A majority of the board of the defendant residential co-op development became frustrated that...

"Appeal" Procedure to Same Judge Who Already Ruled "Below" Was Impermissible

In re Application for a Retail Firearms Dealer's License Renewal by Cayuse Corp. LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2016). This decision, issued by Judge Ostrer for the Appellate...

Allegedly No Goodness to be Thankful for at TGI Friday's for Drink Consumers, But Class Certification Gets Reversed

Dugan v. TGI Fridays, Inc., 445 N.J. Super. 59 (App. Div. 2016). This putative consumer class action has a long procedural history, including a previous appeal to the Appellate Division,...

(Likely) Coming Soon to the Supreme Court: When Does the Involvement of DNA Evidence Toll the Criminal Statute of Limitations?

State v. Twiggs, 445 N.J. Super. 23 (App. Div. 2016). In this conspiracy to commit robbery case, the Law Division dismissed the indictment because the State began the prosecution beyond...

PERC Cannot Unilaterally Abandon the "Dynamic Status Quo Doctrine"

In re County of Atlantic, 445 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2016). The Public Employment Relations Commission ("PERC") is a state agency that is charged by the Legislature with implementing...

Attorney General May Not Enforce Subpoenas Related to False Claims Act Case in Which Attorney General Previously Declined to Intervene

In re Enforcement of New Jersey False Claims Act Subpoenas, 444 N.J. Super. 566 (App. Div. 2016). The New Jersey False Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:32C-1 to -15, -17, and -18...

By What Means Can a Creditor Seize Certificated Securities Held by a Debtor?: A UCC Article 8 Decision

Wolverine Flagship Fund Trading Limited v. American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc., 444 N.J. Super. 530 (App. Div. 2016). This opinion, issued today by Judge St. John, involved the denial of injunctive...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 525354 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84…Last

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....