Cameron v. South Jersey Pubs, Inc., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2019). As discussed here, in Dugan v. TGI Friday’s, Inc., 231 N.J. 24 (2017), the Supreme Court rendered a split decision on class certification in two consolidated consumer action cases involving drink prices at TGI Friday’s restaurants. Those cases sought damage classes under Rule 4:32-1(b)(3). [Disclosure: My partner Susana Cruz Hodge and I filed an amicus brief in the Dugan cases on behalf of the Consumers League of New Jersey]. This case was a follow-on, in which only an injunctive relief class, under Rule...

On July 3, 1997, the Supreme Court decided Lemelledo v. Beneficial Management Corp. of America, 150 N.J. 255 (1997). Justice Handler’s opinion in that case, for a 6-0 Court, is a key Consumer Fraud Act (“CFA”) case. It is also the leading authority as to when a CFA claim is, or is not, pre-empted by the fact that the conduct complained of is regulated by multiple state agencies. The case, a class action, involved “loan packing,” which Justice Handler defined as “a practice on the part of commercial lenders that involves increasing the principal amount of a...

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...