The power outage resulting from last week’s storm put a crimp in much of that week. So it is time once again to catch up with our Supreme Court and Appellate Division, each of whom took highly consequential actions during that time. Some of those are summarized below. State v. G.E.P., ___ N.J. ___ (2020). This case (actually, four consolidated cases) addressed whether and to what extent the Court’s decision in State v. J.L.G., 234 N.J. 265 (2018), should apply retroactively. In J.L.G., the Court “reassessed” its prior decision in State v. J.Q., 130 N.J. 554 (1993),...

Bandler v. Landry’s, Inc., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). Plaintiff, a competitive poker player, saw an advertisement for a “Grand Poker Series” tournament to be held at the Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City. Plaintiff alleged that the ad promised $150,000 in prize money. from twelve “one day tournaments” to be held over the course of ten days. The ad did not state whether that prize money was guaranteed, but it did say, in small print at the bottom, that “Management reserves all rights to change or cancel at any time.” Plaintiff traveled...

Arafa v. Health Express Corp., ___ N.J. ___ (2020). Justice Fernandez-Vina’s opinion today actually involved two consolidated cases, both of which were putative class actions. The issue was whether a contract that the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. 1 et seq. (“FAA”), exempts from its own coverage, can or must be covered by the New Jersey Arbitration Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:23B-1 et seq. (“NJAA”). As discussed here, two different Appellate Division panels reached opposing results. Today, the Supreme Court held that the NJAA applies in the circumstances of these...