New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency v. D.H., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). This case comprised two related appeals. Two biological parents saw their parental rights to their five-year old son terminated by the Family Part under Title 30. The parents had admitted to the recreational use of marijuana. They appealed, contending that the Family Part had improperly held that use of marijuana use against them. Speaking through Judge Sabatino, the Appellate Division held that “a parent’s status as a recreational marijuana user cannot suffice as the sole or...

Lawson v. Dewar, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). This opinion by Judge Fisher was made on summary disposition, a rare occurrence in our appellate courts. In the first paragraph of the opinion, Judge Fisher emphasized that the opinion was written, and published, “chiefly to point out commonly misunderstood distinctions between motions seeking reconsideration of final orders and motions seeking reconsideration of interlocutory orders” (emphases by Judge Fisher). The facts of the case, though important to the parties, are not significant to the legal principles expressed, and...

Estate of Semprevivo v. Lahham, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Judge Rose issued this opinion for the Appellate Division today. It “implicates the proper application and limitations of Rule 1:13-7, long recognized as an administrative ‘docket-clearing rule that is designed to balance the institutional needs of the judiciary against the principle that a just result should not be forfeited at the hands of an attorney’s lack of diligence.'” That Rule deals with dismissals for lack of prosecution. The appeal, Judge Rose said, addressed “two issues: (1)...