February 26 was the most recent post on this blog. From then until today, I have had an Appellate Division oral argument, an oral argument on a dispositive motion in the Law Division, and an oral argument in the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Meanwhile, the appellate courts have not been silent. Here is a summary of some of the decisions that have been issued during that window: State v. Shaw, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). This was the Supreme Court’s only decision during this time period. It addressed whether there should be a limit on the number of times that a prosecutor can submit a case to a...

Felix v. Richards, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). This ruling of the Supreme Court today saw only five Justices participating since Justices Patterson and Timpone were recused. The remaining five Justices split 3-2. Justice LaVecchia wrote the majority opinion, in which Chief Justice Rabner and Justice Albin joined. Justice Fernandez-Vina, joined by Justice Solomon, dissented. The case involved New Jersey’s “deemer” statute, N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.4. That statute implements New Jersey’s statutory scheme that requires insurers who choose to write automobile insurance policies in New...

Pisack v. B&C Towing, Inc., ___ N.J. ___ (2020). This matter involved multiple consolidated consumer class actions challenging the fees charged by the defendant towing companies, which towed plaintiffs’ vehicles at the direction of the police without plaintiffs’ consent. As discussed here, after trial level proceedings produced differing results, the Appellate Division issued a published opinion, reported at 455 N.J. Super. 225 (App. Div. 2018), that resolved, largely in plaintiffs’ favor, a number of issues under the Predatory Towing Prevention Act, N.J.S.A. 56:13-7...