Late last week, the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division each issued two published opinions. Neither court has issued any published opinions this week (nor is either court slated to do so tomorrow, a relatively long hiatus for both courts at this point in a Term), thus affording time for another catch-up post. Here are summaries of those latest opinions. Maison v. New Jersey Transit Corp., ___ N.J. ___ (2021). This was a 4-3 decision in a case in which plaintiff, a passenger on a New Jersey Transit bus, was attacked and injured by another passenger, who threw a bottle at plaintiff....

The Bank of New York Mellon v. Corradetti, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). As discussed here, this case came before the Supreme Court on an appeal as of right, based on a dissent in the Appellate Division. The issue was whether the evidence at trial established that defendants’ signatures on a note and mortgage documents on which this foreclosure action was based were forgeries. After a bench trial, the Chancery Division declined to enforce the mortgage, holding that defendants had demonstrated forgery. The Appellate Division majority found the evidence of forgery sufficient, but Judge Accurso,...

Rozenblit v. Lyles, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). This case involved the question of whether a bargained-for “release time” provision in a collective bargaining agreement between the Jersey City School District and the Jersey City Education Association, which allowed two “releasees” (teachers employed by the District) to spend full time on Association business. Plaintiffs asserted that the provision exceeded the Board’s statutory powers and violated the Gift Clause of the New Jersey Constitution, art. VIII, section 3, paras. 2 and 3. On cross-motions for summary...