In N.J. Div. of Child Prot. & Permanency v. J.Y., the New Jersey Appellate Division began the opinion by stating that “the only thing clear from the record . . . is the confusion regarding the application” at issue. Not a great start. Here, a father had never met his daughter because he was incarcerated … Read more
In Steele v. Steele, the New Jersey Appellate Division reviewed an appeal from the Chancery Division that enforced a marital agreement. The husband-plaintiff’s lawyer drafted a pre-marital agreement before the marriage proposal. But the plaintiff never broached the subject of the agreement with his wife until after they were married. After they wed, the wife … Read more
Thankfully, we can read judicial opinions online. If opinions were issued in paper, the New Jersey Appellate Division would have had to cut down the entire Pinelands for the 175-page opus of Phoenix Pinelands Corp. v. Davidoff. This case started as a quiet title action in the Chancery Division. In short, the Phoenix Pinelands Corp. … Read more
In Lanzo v. Cyprus Amax Minerals Co., two defendants appealed from a judgment, which awarded the plaintiffs $117 million in compensatory and punitive damages, and other orders entered by the trial court during the course of this litigation. The defendants’ primary argument on appeal was that the trial court erred by admitting expert testimony. The … Read more
The litigants in Bd. of Educ. of E. Newark v. Harris could have used some help from the professional ghostwriters at Sullivan | Simon. On March 24, 2021, the lower court ordered East Newark’s Municipal Clerk to conduct an unscheduled election on April 20 and have the ballots printed by March 25. The New Jersey … Read more
In East Bay Drywall, LLC v. Dep’t of Lab. & Workforce Dev., the New Jersey Appellate Division revisited the “ABC Test” used to classify whether a company’s service providers are its employees or independent contractors for purposes of liability for contributions to the state unemployment and temporary disability compensation fund. The “ABC Test” is named … Read more
In the consolidated appeals of State v. Dalal, the defendants argued that the New Jersey Anti-Terrorism Act, N.J.S.A. 2C: 38-1 to -5, was unconstitutionally vague. The New Jersey Appellate Division disagreed and affirmed the convictions. The Court held that the defendants’ conduct–firebombing five synagogues–fell squarely within the prohibited conduct identified by the Act. Consequently, the … Read more
Greebel v. Lensak resulted after a couple, who were in a long-term relationship, raised their daughter together, owned their home together, but never married, terminated the relationship. The plaintiff sought the legal advice of a lawyer because she felt her significant other was being untruthful. Eventually, she retained a different attorney and sought palimony from … Read more
In W.M. v. D.G., a non-dissolution matter, the plaintiff appealed from the orders directing her to return physical custody of a child to the defendant, the biological mother. The New Jersey Appellate Division reversed but did not remand because the child was due to turn eighteen in a few weeks. The Court held that the … Read more
In Hassan v. Williams, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued a must-read opinion, which touched on several evidentiary issues. The Court reviewed a defense-favorable verdict after a rear-end crash involving two commercial trucks. At the trial, the plaintiff sought to introduce testimony from the defendant’s deposition in which he said that rear-ending someone “automatically makes … Read more