The appellate courts have not been idle since the most recent post on this blog. Opinions have been issued, the Supreme Court has taken up more cases for review, and the Appellate Division has entered an Order about scheduling in light of the Covid-19 situation. Here are some summaries: The Supreme Court issued these opinions, the most recent of which (listed first below) was announced this morning: Barla v. Cliffside Park Bd. of Educ., ___ N.J. ___ (2020). At issue, on cross-motions for summary judgment, was the effect of a 2015 collective bargaining agreement that reduced a cap on...

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...

On December 18, 1967, the Supreme Court decided Ellsworth Dobbs, Inc. v. Johnson, 50 N.J. 528 (1967). The Court’s 6-0 opinion, authored by Justice Francis, overturned nearly 100 years of New Jersey jurisprudence about when a broker earns a commission payment from a seller. As Justice Francis stated, in Hinds v. Henry, 36 N.J.L. 328 (Sup. 1873), “the former Supreme Court ruled that when a broker who had been duly authorized by the owner to find a buyer for his property produced a willing and able purchaser who entered into a contract to buy on terms agreeable to the owner, the...