Sullivan v. Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). As Judge Firko stated in the first sentence of her opinion in this case, this was an appeal “from a July 22, 2019, order entering judgment finding that real estate auction sales contracts prepared by attorneys, licensed real estate brokers or salespersons, need not contain the three-day attorney review clause mandated by N.J. State Bar Ass’n v. N.J. Ass’n of Realtor Boards, 93 N.J. 470 (1983), and codified in N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.2(g), when a blank, pre-printed contract is sent to a...

State v. Faber, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). As discussed here, last month, the Appellate Division affirmed defendant’s Municipal Court convictions but remanded for correction of his sentence. The panel cited two matters that the Law Division had overlooked in sentencing. One of those was a statutory requirement that defendant install an ignition interlock in his vehicle. Today, however, the panel issued an opinion that “revises and replaces” the prior ruling. Judge Fuentes explained the reason for that. “After the opinion was published, the State filed a...

State v. Faber, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). Today’s opinion by Judge Fuentes in this case, which originated in Municipal Court and then went to the Law Division, makes an important point: the Appellate Division reviews not the ruling of the Municipal Court, but that of the Law Division, which engages in de novo review of the Municipal Court. As a result, defendant’s conviction on DWI, reckless driving, and failure to maintain lanes was affirmed, though the sentence required correction. The Municipal Court, in finding defendant guilty, imposed fines and penalties, as...