Bascom Corporation v. Paterson Coalition for Housing, Inc., 2021 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1846 (App. Div. Aug. 24, 2021). Periodically, our appellate courts offer lessons in “what not to do” or “how not to behave.” The Appellate Division did just that in this case. The decision itself, a per curiam ruling by a panel consisting of Judges Fuentes and Firko, resulted from a foreclosure action. A final judgment of foreclosure was entered against defendant Paterson Coalition for Housing, Inc. (“PCH”). More than nine months after the entry of that judgment, and...

State v. Carter, ___ N.J. ___ (2021); State v. Roman-Rosado, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). These two consolidated appeals, in which Chief Justice Rabner authored a unanimous opinion issued today, dealt with N.J.S.A. 39:-3-33. As relevant to today’s ruling, that statute states “No person shall drive a motor vehicle which has a license plate frame or identification marker holder that conceals or otherwise obscures any part of any marking imprinted upon the vehicle’s registration plate . . . .” The question was whether the statute is unconstitutionally vague or overbroad, or whether it...

On this date in 1993, the Supreme Court decided Coffman v. Keene Corp., 133 N.J. 581 (1993). This was a case brought by an asbestos worker. As Justice Handler, writing for a unanimous Court, said, “[p]laintiff claimed that defendant had violated its duty to warn consumers of the health hazards associated with asbestos products. Defendant took the position that the absence of such a warning did not proximately contribute to plaintiff’s injuries because there was no evidence proffered that plaintiff would have followed such a warning, and therefore no proof that the failure to warn...