Bacon v. Avis Budget Group, Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2020). Plaintiffs rented vehicles from defendant Payless Car Rental, Inc., a subsidiary of defendant Avis Budget Group, Inc. (together, “Payless”), in the United States and in Costa Rica. In each transaction, renters signed a rental agreement. By signing, the renters agreed to “all notices and terms here and in the rental jacket.” A Payless counter representative then placed the signed agreement into a folder kept behind the rental counter and labeled “Rental Terms and Conditions,” and handed it back...

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...