On this date in 1996, the Supreme Court decided Tormee Construction, Inc. v. Mercer Cty. Improvement Auth. That day saw the Court’s decision issued, nine days after the case was argued orally before the Court. But the Court’s full written opinion by Justice Pollock, for a five-Justice majority, with a dissent by Justice Handler in which Chief Justice Wilentz joined, did not come out until February 6, 1996. 143 N.J. 143 (1996). Defendant (“MCIA”) solicited bids for several construction projects involving branches of the Mercer County Library. One of the bid...

Rowe v. Bell & Gossett Co., ___ N.J. ___ (2019). This first Supreme Court opinion of the new Term, written by Justice Patterson for a unanimous Court, addresses the hearsay exception contained in Evidence Rule 803(c)(25). Plaintiff, who died during the pendency of appeals in the case, sued a number of defendants after contracting mesothelioma. All but one defendant, “Universal,” settled before trial. Plaintiff won a jury verdict as to Universal. But Universal offered into evidence interrogatory answers and deposition testimony of the settling defendants in support of a...

[Disclosure: I represent the petitioner in this matter.] The Supreme Court today announced its first grant of review in the new Term. The case is West Pleasant-CPGT, Inc. v. U.S. Home Corp. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “Among other issues, is a fair market value credit available to a mortgagor or debtor where the mortgagee or creditor does not pursue a deficiency action?” The Law Division and a three-judge panel of the Appellate Division, in an unpublished opinion, each applied a fair market value credit. Though the two courts...