Miller v. State Operated School District of the City of Newark, ___ N.J. ___ (2019). Today, in a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court affirmed, by a 5-2 vote, the Appellate Division’s previously unpublished decision in this matter on the opinion below. That opinion, written by Judge Vernoia, was also approved for publication and appears at ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2019). Justices LaVecchia and Patterson were the dissenters. The issue, quoted in full here, was whether the defendant school district’s termination of plaintiff’s employment violated her tenure rights...

Minsavage v. Board of Trustees, Teachers’ Pension & Annuity Fund, ___ N.J. ___ (2019). This per curiam opinion addressed the question “whether a widow can modify the retirement application of her recently deceased husband, who was a member of the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (Pension Fund), even though his application was never approved because he selected a retirement option for which he was ultimately ineligible.” The Board had ruled against the widow (“Christine”), the plaintiff here, and the Appellate Division affirmed. The Supreme Court, however,...

Sashihara v. Nobel Learning Communities, Inc., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2019). In this case, M.M. (“Jane”), a child with Down’s Syndrome, was enrolled by her parents at a school operated by defendant. Jane began school there at seven months of age, in an “infant” program. When Jane reached age three, she entered an “Intermediate” level program that did not provide diapering services. Defendant told Jane’s parents that Jane needed to be toilet-trained within a few months in order to remain enrolled. But Jane’s doctor said that, due...