The Supreme Court Clerk’s office announced that the pass rate for the most recent New Jersey Bar examination, administered in October, was 66.17%. That was almost identical to the pass rate for the July 2019 exam, which was 66.20% percent. The pass rate for the past five administrations of the July Bar exam was 64.93%. read more

Clark v. Nenna, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). After plaintiff broke his femur during a physical therapy session, he had surgery that stabilized his bone using screws and washers. The screw heads caused him discomfort, so he had another surgery, performed by defendant, to remove the screws. Defendant did that successfully. But defendant could not remove the washers because they were “embedded in scar tissue that had developed around the hardware.” Defendant decided to leave the washers where they were because removing them would have required a larger incision and would have created a greater risk of post-operative infection. But he did not document about the decision to leave the washers in place. Nor did he discuss with plaintiff, either before or after the surgery, the idea of leaving the washers undisturbed. read more

As 2005 neared its close, the Supreme Court decided Tonelli v. Wyckoff Tp. Bd. of Educ., 185 N.J. 438 (2005), on December 28 of that year. The case arose when plaintiff Virginia Tonelli, after watching her granddaughter play soccer on a school field owned by the defendant school board, tripped over a speed the school’s parking lot on the way back to her car. She fractured her hip and later died as a result of complications from her injuries. Her husband sued the Board for negligently creating and maintaining the speed bump. read more

It is a pleasure to announce here what is also being announced elsewhere: as of January 1, 2021, my firm, Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC will become Lite DePalma Greenberg & Afanador, LLC. Our partner, Victor A. Afanador, will thus become a name partner of the firm. read more

Delaney v. Dickey, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). Justice Albin’s opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court in this case today is an important one for attorneys and their clients. The Court held that if an attorney includes in a retainer agreement a provision that legal malpractice claims must proceed in arbitration rather than in court, the attorney “must generally explain to a client the benefits and disadvantages of arbitrating a prospective dispute between the attorney and client. Such an explanation is necessary because, to make an informed decision, the client must have a basic understanding of the fundamental differences between an arbitral forum and a judicial forum in resolving a future fee dispute or malpractice action.” read more

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in Gilbert v. Stewart. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “In this legal malpractice action, was defendant entitled to summary judgment on the grounds that his breach of the duty of care owed to plaintiff was not the proximate cause of her damages?” The Appellate Division, in an unpublished per curiam opinion by a two-judge panel, affirmed the Law Division’s grant of summary judgment. Now the Supreme Court will hear the matter. read more

On December 15, 1952, the Supreme Court decided Ward v. Scott, 11 N.J. 117 (1952). Though the municipal law applicable at the time that case was decided has largely been superseded by the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq., Ward has been cited nearly 200 times, according to a Lexis search, including as recently as 2020. read more

Ippolito v. Ippolito, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020); Garden State Investment v. Township of Brick, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). Each of the last two days saw published opinions by Judge Fisher. Each one was short, and each involved the type of equitable issues for which Judge Fisher is perhaps best known. read more