Escobar v. Mazie, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2019). This appeal arose out of an order disqualifying every attorney at the law firm of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, LLC except Adam Slater from representing the firm or one of its principals, David Mazie, in defense of this malpractice action. Slater certified that he had had no involvement in the underlying matter. Plaintiff successfully argued in the Law Division that Rule of Professional Conduct 3.7 precluded Mazie and most others at the firm from participating in the defense of depositions because those attorneys would be necessary...

J.H. v. R&M Tagliereni, LLC, ___ N.J. ___ (2019). [There was the potential of a guest post regarding this case, but that did not pan out. That’s the reason for the delay in this post.] This was a tragic case, in which the Supreme Court split 5-2. Plaintiff, a nine-month old infant, was severely burned when he rolled from a bed into an uncovered radiator in his family’s apartment, which was leased from defendants. Plaintiff and his guardian ad litem sued for his injuries, claiming negligence by the landlord in failing to cover the radiator. The Law Division granted summary...

Due to a Supreme Court brief, a major Appellate Division brief, some personal matters, and issues as to the hosting of this blog, there were no postings here for the last part of July. So this post is in the nature of a retroactive declaration of a hiatus. Hopefully, things will be (closer to) normal going forward. All that is not to say that the courts were inactive. One case in particular, in which Judge Currier wrote one of the longest and most detailed opinions of the current Term, deserves special mention. In ADP, LLC v. Kusins, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2019), the Appellate...