Rappaport v. Pasternak, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Justice Patterson's opinion for a unanimous Court today arose out of the arbitration of a dispute among members of limited liability companies. After the arbitrator made his award, the Chancery Division confirmed that award. But the Appellate Division, which viewed the record as showing that the arbitrator had improperly ruled on an issue not presented by the parties, modified the award. On further review, the Supreme Court reversed the Appellate Division and reinstated the Chancery Division's confirmation of the award....
D.T. v. Archdocese of Philadelphia, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). This unanimous opinion by Justice Patterson involved whether New Jersey courts had personal juriisdiction over the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, a defendant. Suing both the Diocese and Michael J. McCarthy, a priest assigned by the Archdiocese to a Pennsylvania parish, plaintiff alleged that McCarthy had sexually abused him during an overnight trip to a private home in New Jersey. On leave to appeal, as discussed here, the Appellate Division affirmed a ruling of the Law Division that New Jersey courts lacked personal jurisdiction over the Archdiocese on the facts presented. The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal and affirmed in a unanimous opinion by Justice Patterson, who stated that "an n appellate court reviews de novo a trial court's legal determinations regarding personal jurisdiction, but its review of a trial ‘court's factual findings with respect to jurisdiction' is limited to determining whether those findings are supported by substantial, credible evidence in the record."...
The final two days of July saw one Supreme Court opinion and two published opinions by the Appellate Division. Here are summaries: New Jersey Division of Child Protection & Permanency...
A 3-3 Supreme Court Split Affirms the Appellate Division in Hyman v. Rosenblum Yeshiva of New Jersey
Hyman v. Rosenblum Yeshiva of New Jersey, 258 N.J. 208 (2024). As discussed here, in an opinion reported at 474 N.J. Super. 561 (App. Div. 2023), the Appellate Division affirmed...
In the latter part of last week, the Supreme Court issued its first ruling of the month of June. The Appellate Division came down with only its second published opinion...
It's the time of year when the Supreme Court gets into a higher gear when it comes to issuing opinions. The Court released three decisions this week, all of them...
Kennedy v. Weichert Co., 257 N.J. 290 (2024). As discussed here, this putative class action case addressed whether written agreements under which plaintiff, a licensed real estate salesperson, entered in...
American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey v. County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey, 257 N.J. 87 (2024). The ACLU of New Jersey sought five categories of records from defendant...
Robey v. SPARC Group, LLC, 256 N.J. 541 (2024). Today saw a relatively rare 4-3 decision from the Supreme Court. The majority consisted of Justice Solomon, the author of the...
AC Ocean Walk, LLC v. American Guarantee & Liability Ins. Co., 256 N.J. 294 (2024). [Disclosure: I was one of the counsel for United Policyholders, an amicus in support of...