July 21, 1983 saw two very important opinions from the Supreme Court.  One of them, Application of Matthews, 94 N.J. 59 (1983), was the first major opinion regarding a Committee on Character issue.  That case was discussed, indirectly, here. read more

State ex rel. Campagna v. Post Integrations, Inc., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2017).  The New Jersey False Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:32C-1 to -18 (“NJFCA”), encourages lawsuits by private parties, known as relators, in the interest of the State of New Jersey, to help the State recoup monies wrongly taken from or not paid to the State.  But the NJFCA expressly excludes “claims, records, or statements made in connection with State tax laws.”  The qui tam complaint in today’s opinion by Judge Rothstadt alleged that defendants, who were “out-of-state credit card processors who served New Jersey based hotels … violated the NJFCA by making false statements in order to avoid paying New Jersey ‘assessments, fees, license costs and other charges.”  Defendants moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim, and the Law Division granted that motion, finding that the exclusion for tax-related matters barred the claim.  The Appellate Division today affirmed. read more

The ABA Journal’s annual list of top legal blogs, previously known as the ABA Blawg 100, has been expanded this year to cover such things as law firm websites and other law-related things, so it is now known as the ABA Web 100.  Readers of this blog who are interested in being “amici” (the ABA Journal’s term for supporters of a legal blog) for New Jersey Appellate Law blog can do so at http://www.abajournal.com/blawgs/web100.  Such support would be greatly appreciated.  Submissions are due by July 30, 2017 at 11:59 P.M. Central time.  Thanks. read more

North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. Lyndhurst Tp., ___ N.J. ___ (2017).  Due to the amount of administrative duties that attend the office of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, Chief Justices traditionally have not authored as many opinions as Associate Justices do.  But when Chief Justices write, it is often an unusually important decision and/or one with significant public policy overtones.  This decision by Chief Justice Rabner, for a unanimous Court, is an example. read more

Susinno v. Work Out World, Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2017).  Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S.Ct. 1540 (2016), discussed here, was a case in which class action defendants put great stock.  They hoped to use it to defeat cases based on lack of “concrete” injury.  The Third Circuit, however, has repeatedly rebuffed those attempts.  Earlier this year, the court reversed a Spokeo-based dismissal in In re Horizon Healthcare Services Data Breach Litig., 846 F.3d 625 (3d Cir. 2017), discussed here.  That case followed two prior privacy cases that had likewise rejected Spokeo arguments.  This week, in an opinion by Judge Hardiman, the Third Circuit reversed another dismissal, in a case under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. §227 (“TCPA”), that had been premised on Spokeo. read more

Smith v. Datla, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2017).  This opinion by Judge Geiger was his first published opinion since his elevation to the Appellate Division.  It involved the applicable statute of limitations for each of three distinct claims that all arose out of a statement by defendant, plaintiff’s doctor, about plaintiff’s HIV-positive status in the presence of a third party.  Plaintiff (John Smith is a fictitious name) alleged that that disclosure constituted invasion of his privacy based on public disclosure of private facts, constituted medical malpractice, and represented a violation of the AIDS Assistance Act, N.J.S.A. 26:5C-1 to -14 (“the AIDS Act”). read more

Grande v. Saint Clare’s Health System, ___ N.J. ___ (2017).  Today’s unanimous, scholarly opinion by Justice Solomon, with an equally scholarly concurring opinion by Jsutice LaVecchia, arose from an appeal as of right in this Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”) case.  The Appellate Division split 2-1 as to whether there were genuine issues of material fact for trial, with the majority concluding that there were such issues.  The defendant, Saint Clare’s, appealed, and the Supreme Court found that there were disputed material issues for trial.  The Court affirmed the decision below as modified, and remanded the matter to the Law Division for further proceedings. read more

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in McDaid v. Aztec West Condominium Association.  The question presented in that appeal, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s Office, is “Does the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (a Latin phrase meaning ‘the thing speaks for itself’) apply to plaintiff’s claims for injuries resulting from her being struck by a closing elevator door in her condominium complex?” read more