Certain Underwriters at Lloyds Subscribing to Policy PLH-0013397 v. Public Service Electric and Gas, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2019). Judge Fisher’s opinion in this appeal today was barely longer than the title and the caption of this case. The issue was whether, “when a defendant’s negligence has caused a homeowner to be displaced … whether [the] homeowner’s damages are limited to the cost of alternate shelter or whether the homeowner may also seek additional damages based on a broader concept of inconvenience.” The case arose out of a winter storm...

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in three more cases. Each one came to the Court in a different way. In the first case, S.T. v. 1515 Broad Street, LLC, the Court granted certification. The question presented there, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “Where a litigant’s counsel moves for the appointment of a guardian ad litem (GAL), what standards and procedures govern the appointment of the GAL, and the court’s determination of whether the GAL is empowered to make decisions in the litigation (e.g., settlement) on behalf of the...

Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Jackson, ___ U.S. ___ (2019). Among other changes made by the so-called Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, 28 U.S.C. 1453(b) (“CAFA”) made it easier for class action defendants to remove to federal court putative class action cases filed in state courts. That provision states that a class action may be removed by “any defendant without the consent of all defendants.” CAFA supplemented the general removal statute, 28 U.S.C. 1441(a), which permits removal of any civil action “by the defendant or the defendants.” But what about the...