Sanchez v. Fitness Factory Edgewater, LLC, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). In Mellet v. Aquasid, LLC, 453 N.J. Super. 23 (App. Div. 2017), the Appellate Division ruled that the Retail Installment Sales Act, N.J.S.A. 17:16C-1 to -61 (“RISA”), does not apply to health club or gym membership contracts. Mellet relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Perez v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., 186 N.J. 188 (2006), which involved rent-to-own contracts. The Supreme Court did not review Mellet. read more

In re Russo, Jr., ___ N.J. ___ (2020). As Chief Justice Rabner recounted in his opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court yesterday, Judge John F. Russo, Jr., has been an attorney since 1997. After clerking in the Superior Court, he entered private practice. He then served as an Administrative Law Judge for six years before being appointed to the Superior Court in December 2015. In January and April 2016, he received the training that new Family Part judges all receive, as well as training related to the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:25-17 et seq. read more

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in five new cases. Two of them involve published opinions of the Appellate Division. read more

Bacon v. Avis Budget Group, Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2020). Plaintiffs rented vehicles from defendant Payless Car Rental, Inc., a subsidiary of defendant Avis Budget Group, Inc. (together, “Payless”), in the United States and in Costa Rica. In each transaction, renters signed a rental agreement. By signing, the renters agreed to “all notices and terms here and in the rental jacket.” read more

Wayne Land & Mineral Group, LLC v. Delaware River Basin Comm’n, ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2020). This opinion by Judge Fisher today involved a case in which plaintiff challenged the ability of defendant Delaware River Basin Commission “the Commission”) to regulate fracking. After one intervenor and its leader were permitted to intervene in the case in support of the Commission, three Pennsylvania state Senators sought to intervene in support of plaintiff. After a number of procedural twists and turns, the District Court ultimately denied the Senators the ability to intervene, but without first evaluating the issue of the Senators’ Article III standing. That issue was the focus of today’s opinion. read more

Grewal v. Greda, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). This far too belated post is about a very informative opinion by Judge Vernoia last week. The case was one brought by the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (hence the appearance of Attorney General Grewal as the named plaintiff) against defendants, Elizabeth landlords who allegedly discriminated unlawfully against a Muslim would-be tenant, Fatma Farghaly, by refusing to rent an apartment to her. A jury ruled in favor of defendants, but the Appellate Division reversed due to evidence errors, an abuse of discretion, and remanded for a new trial. read more

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in three more cases. In State v. Williamson, the question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “Was the victim’s identification of defendant admissible as a dying declaration under N.J.R.E. 804(b)(2) and did its admission deprive defendant of his Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him?” The Law Division admitted the testimony and the Appellate Division, in a per curiam unpublished opinion by a two-judge panel, affirmed that ruling and upheld defendant’s conviction on first degree aggravated manslaughter and other charges. read more

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in two more cases. The first, an ethics matter that could arise only in our current electronic age, comes to the Court on a petition for review. The second, a criminal appeal, is before the Court on leave to appeal. read more