City Select Auto Sales, Inc. v. BMW Bank of North America Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2017).  Judge Scirica, who wrote the Hayes and Carrera opinions that form the backbone of the Third Circuit’s ascertainability doctrine in class action cases, authored this opinion for the Third Circuit.  The case arose under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. §227, alleging the receipt of an unauthorized fax sent on behalf of defendant BMW Bank of North America through defendant Creditsmarts Corporation. read more

Montclair State University v. County of Passaic, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2017).  The Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., places responsibility for development applications within a particular municipality in the hands of a Planning Board and/or a Zoning Board of Adjustment.  There can also be a role for a County Planning Board.  But some property owners are not subject to the oversight of those municipal agencies.  In Rutgers v. Piluso, 60 N.J. 60 N.J. 142 (1972), the Supreme Court held a municipality had no power over an application by Rutgers, a state university, that involved property located entirely on its own campus.  The issue in today’s decision by Judge Rothstadt was whether that Rutgers doctrine applied where Montclair State University sought to construct a roadway, on its own property, that intersected with a county road.  The panel concluded that Rutgers did apply. read more

In re Lipitor Antitrust Litig., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2017).  It is evident that an appeal is a big one when, as here, the caption and counsel list consume the first seventeen pages of the Third Circuit’s opinion.  In this case, Chief Judge Smith wrote a 106-page opinion (including the caption and counsel list) that reversed the District Court’s dismissal of these consolidated pharmaceutical patent antitrust class action matters, which involved the drugs Lipitor and Effexor XR. read more

Kelly v. Maxum Specialty Ins. Group, ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2017).  Judge Chagares began one of the early paragraphs of today’s opinion for the Third Circuit in this Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §2201-2202 (“DJA”), case this way: read more

Moon v. Breathless, Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2017).  At least since 2014, when the Supreme Court of New Jersey decided Atalese v. U.S. Legal Servs. Grp., L.P., 219 N.J. 430 (2014) (discussed here), New Jersey law has been clear that contractual arbitration clauses must explicitly state that a party is waiving a jury trial as to statutory claims in order to be effective when that party seeks to bring a statute-based claim n court.  Subsequent examples have abounded, including this one and this one. read more

In re Howmedica Osteonics Corp., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2017).  Today’s opinion by Judge Krause contains a little bit of a lot of things: in no particular order, waiver, forum selection clauses, section 1404 transfer law, necessary party law, personal jurisdiction, mandamus, appellate jurisdiction to grant mandamus, and the standard of review for mandamus cases, severance, and the proper application of Atlantic Marine Construction Co. v. U.S. District Court, 134 S.Ct. 568 (2013), which directed federal courts to honor forum selection clauses “[i]n all but the most unusual cases.” read more

The Judicial Conference Advisory Committee is seeking comments on proposed changes to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (as well as proposed changes to other sets of federal rules).  The details are here. read more

Bisbing v. Bisbing, ___ N.J. ___ (2017).  Justice Patterson began her opinion in this case, for a unanimous Court, as follows.  “This appeal arises from a trial court’s post-judgment determination authorizing a mother to relocate with her children out of state, notwithstanding their father’s objection to the children’s move.  It requires that we address the showing necessary to establish ’cause’ under N.J.S.A. 9:2-2 for the entry of an order authorizing a parent to relocate out of state with his or her child, despite the other parent’s opposition to the child’s interstate move.” read more