Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC v. Township of Neptune, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Prudent practitioners who file cases under the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (“OPRA”), include an alternative claim under the common law right of access. That latter claim is not a mere sideshow. Today, the Appellate Division, speaking through Judge Yannotti, addressed a case where plaintiff (doing business as the Asbury Park Press) lost the argument under OPRA but won access under the common law. The panel then, however, denied plaintiff attorneys’...

Tarta Luna Properties, LLC v. Harvest Restaurants Group, LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). In summary, the parties entered into a long-term lease of a restaurant space, to which defendants (the tenant) intended to make substantial renovations. The parties fought over various issues, including complaints by the plaintiff property owners about the construction in which defendant was engaging. Eventually, this case was filed in Chancery by the property owners, who sought to enjoin the renovation, declare that defendant had forfeited the property, obtain damages for breach of the lease,...

Doe v. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Today, the Appellate Division, speaking through Judge Sumners, issued a decision under the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (“OPRA”). Plaintiff, formerly a student at the university’s Graduate School of Business, made several OPRA requests. The first of those requests included, but went well beyond, plaintiff’s own student records. A second request sought copies of specific Rutgers administrators’ and faculty members’ disclosable employment records....