Opinion Summaries
At Sullivan | Simon, we read and summarize every precedential opinion from all of the state appellate courts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
An en banc panel of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed the order, which denied Claimant’s petition seeking to limit the subrogation interest of Green Acres Contracting Co. (“Employer”) under Section 319 of the Workers’ Compensation Act (“Act”). The issues were “whether Section 319 of the Act violates article I, section 1 and article III, section… Continue reading Kamp v. Green Acres Contracting Co.
The Third Circuit reviewed the one-year tolling provision for petitions seeking collateral relief from state-court convictions under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(2). The petitioner was convicted of a crime in New Jersey state court and lost his direct appeal. 193 days elapsed before he filed a state-level petition for post-conviction relief (“PCR”). He was denied post-conviction… Continue reading Martin v. Adm’r N.J. State Prison
The Third Circuit issued a procedural opinion granting the petitioner’s appeal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(f), which permits an appellate court to hear an appeal from an order granting or denying class-action certification. The respondent was a landowner who claimed that the petitioner stored natural gas in six separate storage fields without compensation. The… Continue reading Laudato v. EQT Corp.
Criminal law litigators: Read this opinion. This appeal presented the New Jersey Supreme Court with an issue of first impression: “Whether the police have a right to conduct a protective sweep of a home when an arrest is made outside the home and, if so, the requisite justification for a warrantless entry and protective sweep.”… Continue reading State v. Terres
Criminal law litigators – read this opinion. This appeal presented the New Jersey Supreme Court with an issue of first impression: “Whether the police have a right to conduct a protective sweep of a home when an arrest is made outside the home and, if so, the requisite justification for a warrantless entry and protective… Continue reading State v. Radel
After a long-standing business relationship soured, the ensuing litigation went big. For years, a vendor provided food services at a private university, but in 2014 the university announced that it would competitively bid the contract for on-campus dining. Although the same vendor ultimately won that competition, the process of bidding, negotiating, and finalizing that new… Continue reading Sodexomagic, LLC v. Drexel Univ.
The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that “a parent’s Portee claim should be tolled and preserved until the time the child asserts their claim.” In these matters arising out of the shooting death of a minor, the Court considered whether the time for a minor’s parent to file a notice of tort claim for her… Continue reading Estate of Dunmore v. Pleasantville Bd. of Educ.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s order denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss the charges. Officer Rivera arrested the defendant for allegedly stealing a pack of cigarettes and assaulting the responding officers when confronted. At the preliminary hearing, no attorney for the Commonwealth participated, although Officer Rivera was present. During the proceedings, Officer… Continue reading Commonwealth v. Sanitiago
The Third Circuit reversed the District Court’s award of summary judgment to the Government. Jaffal filed an N-600 Application for Certificate of Citizenship, seeking derivative U.S. citizenship through his father. USCIS denied the application and his subsequent Motion to Reopen. Jaffal then brought this action seeking a declaratory judgment under 8 U.S.C. § 1503(a) that… Continue reading Jaffal v. Dir. Newark NJ Field Office ICE
It didn’t take long for the New Jersey Appellate Division to grapple with the New Jersey Supreme Court’s ruling in State v. Comer. Here, the Appellate Division remanded a case for an adversarial hearing to determine whether the defendant “still fails to appreciate risks and consequences and whether he has matured or been rehabilitated.” The… Continue reading State v. Thomas