Persuasive legal writing matters. Don’t believe us, ask KWS, Inc. In Scalla v. KWS, Inc., the Superior Court issued a thorough dressing-down of the company’s attempt to reopen a default judgment after its employee purposefully ignored service. KWS, Inc., filed its petition to reopen default judgment late; it filed prolix reply briefs and sur-reply briefs … Read more
In Guiser v. Seiber the Superior Court quashed the appeal, in part, because the appellant did not wait for the trial court to rule on post-sentence motions and enter judgment. But the Court did review an order granting injuctive relief because a party has a right to appeal immediately from such relief. The Court held that the … Read more
The Appellate Division in Seigelstein v. Shrewsbury Motors, Inc., reiterated the importance of the “lodestar” principal regarding attorneys fees originally set forth in Rendine v. Pantzer, whereby the starting point in calculating such fees is the number of hours reasonably expended on the litigation multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate.
The 3rd Circuit affirmed granting class certification to a group of who purchased Suboxone from its manufacturer in In re Suboxone Antitrust Litigation. The class alleged that the manufacturer engaged in unfair trade practice to drive prescribers away from Suboxone tablets and toward under-the-tongue films in order to drive market share away from generic tablet … Read more
In a certified question from the 3rd Circuit, the Supreme Court held that the entire controversy does not preclude a party who is successful in filing a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim from later bringing a suit arising out of the same transactional facts.
The Supreme Court held that a trial court has the authority to halt proceedings and sua sponte order a mistrial only where there is “exceedingly clear error” that results in a “manifest injustice”, notwithstanding the would-be moving party’s failure to preserve the issue.
More than one month after a defense verdict in non-jury trial, plaintiff filed a motion for leave to file a post-trial motion nunc pro tunc. The trial court denied that, claiming that plaintiff did not show he was appropriately diligent. The Superior Court reversed, though, after finding that the prothonotary failed to note in the docket … Read more
This class action proceeded to trial and the jury agreed with plaintiffs that defendant breached express and implied warranties by selling plaintiffs cars with defective break pads. The jury awarded $750 to each plaintiff. The trial court granted defendant’s post trial motion regarding damages only. The trial court left the verdict intact to liability. But … Read more
The defendant defaulted on an automobile loan and the plaintiff held the note. The plaintiff filed this debt-collection action after the four-year statute of limitations set forth in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lapsed. By the defendant did not respond to the complaint. The plaintiff was thus granted default judgment on the claim. Eight … Read more
Plaintiff-appellant was a lawyer representing himself in an action to recover unpaid legal fees. Seemingly not content with simply proving true the old adage about a lawyer representing himself, the lawyer was also rather curt and disrespectful, as well as foolish. He alleged in his complaint that he gave the proper 30-day notice required under … Read more