Diana v. LVNV Funding, LLC, ___ N.J. ___ (2026). [Disclosure: I represented amici curiae Consumers League of New Jersey and National Association of Consumer Attorneys in this appeal]. In a unanimous opinion by Justice Hoffman, the Supreme Court held that plaintiff, suing on behalf of a putative class, could not assert an implied private right of action to void a loan contract, pursuant to the New Jersey Consumer Finance Licensing Act, CFLA, N.J.S.A. 17:11C-1 to -49 ("CFLA"), against institutional debt-buyer defendants that allegedly purchased his credit card debt without a requisite license....

Reed v. Muoio, ___ N.J. ___ (2026). As Justice Noriega said in his unanimous opinion in this appeal, the case centered on a 1995 amendment to the New Jersey Constitution, N.J. Const. art. VIII, § 2, ¶ 5), that "prohibit[ed] any law, rule, or regulation that was determined to be an unfunded mandate." The amendment directed the Legislature to establish the Council on Unfunded Mandates ("the Council") to resolve whether a statute, rule, or regulation was an unfunded mandate. The issue in this case was whether the Council exceeded its powers....

In the time since the most recent post on this blog about published Appellate Division opinions, that court issued published rulings in four cases. Here are summaries:...

On Thursday, March 12, the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Martinez v. T. Slack Environmental Services, Inc. The issue on appeal is whether plaintiff's lawsuit, predicated on the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law, and the Prevailing Wage Act, must satisfy the criteria of Rule 4:32, the class action rule. The Law Division found that unnecessary....

On Thursday, March 12, the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Martinez v. T. Slack Environmental Services, Inc. The issue is whether plaintiff's lawsuit, predicated on the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law, and the Prevailing Wage Act, must satisfy the criteria of Rule 4:32, the class action rule. The Law Division found that unnecessary....

Paciorkowski v. Jetson Electric Bikes LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2026). Plaintiff, an attorney, filed a putative class action for consumer fraud and on other theories against defendant He alleged that he had purchased three electric bikes from defendant, that the bikes had several problems that made them essentially unusable by adults, and that New Jersey law effectively made the bikes illegal to use in New Jersey....

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....

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in five more appeals. On of those matters is before the Court on leave to appeal. In the others, the Court granted certification....

Hopkins v. LVNV Funding, LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). This appeal arose out of a Special Civil Part action by LVNV Funding, LLC ("LVNV") on January 26, 2022 to collect an alleged $746.71 debt originally owed to Credit Bank One, N.A. LVNV alleged that it was the successor in interest and owner of the alleged debt, at the tail end of a long line of successors. Hopkins filed an Answer and a class action counterclaim, alleging that LVNV and the others in its chain of successors were not licensed to conduct business as consumer lenders or sales finance companies pursuant to the New Jersey Consumer Finance Licensing Act ("CFLA"), N.J.S.A. 17:11C-1 to -49....

On this date in 2004, the Supreme Court decided Smith v. SBC Communications, Inc., 178 N.J. 265 (2004). The case was a putative Consumer Fraud Act ("CFA") and breach of contract class action against Southern New England Telephone Company ("SNET") and BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. Plaintiff alleged that defendants falsely advertised that prepaid calling cards purchased at BJ's would yield substantially more calling time than plaintiff actually received....