Chief Justice Rabner has issued the General Assignment Order for 2020-21, which is available here. Judge Ostrer has replaced Judge Koblitz, who will be retiring, as Presiding Judge of Part C. The other Presiding Judges, who include Judges Sabatino, Fasciale, Alvarez, Messano, Fisher, Yannotti, and Fuentes, remain in place. Judge Messano continues as Presiding Judge for Administration, as does Judge Sabatino as Deputy Presiding Judge for Administration. The eight panels have been rejiggered, as is the case every year. Parts E and F list “TEMPORARY ASSIGNEE” as their fourth member....

Estate of Campagna v. Pleasant Point Properties, LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). This opinion is a magnum opus by Judge Sabatino. But he well summarized the ruling in the three short paragraphs that began the opinion: “This wrongful death and survival case arises out of the fatal stabbing of a rooming house resident by another resident. The assailant had recently been released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime, although the rooming house owner and operator were not aware of that criminal history. “The core question in this case is whether, under...

Due to a personal matter, there have been no posts on this blog since June 2. This post will summarize some of the decisions from our appellate courts since that date. Separately, Governor Murphy nominated Fabiana Pierre-Louis to fill the Supreme Court seat currently held by Justice Timpone when he reaches retirement age in November of this year. A separate post, on another day, will discuss that nomination. Finally, the Supreme Court granted certification in one new case, Haley v. Board of Review. The question presented there, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is...