Unlike the Supreme Court of the United States, which customarily (though apparently not this year) issues all its opinions for the term by June 30, the Supreme Court of New Jersey continues issuing opinions into the summer months, or even beyond. In the last few days, the Court has issued three opinions. Here are summaries of those opinions: Gourmet Dining, LLC v. Union Township, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). This decision, issued today, was a 6-0 ruling, with Justice LaVecchia authoring the Court’s opinion. As discussed here, this case involved (to quote Justice LaVecchia) the question of...

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...

Sanchez v. Fitness Factory Edgewater, LLC, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). In Mellet v. Aquasid, LLC, 453 N.J. Super. 23 (App. Div. 2017), the Appellate Division ruled that the Retail Installment Sales Act, N.J.S.A. 17:16C-1 to -61 (“RISA”), does not apply to health club or gym membership contracts. Mellet relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Perez v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., 186 N.J. 188 (2006), which involved rent-to-own contracts. The Supreme Court did not review Mellet. Today, the Court addressed the question of whether an “initiation fee” imposed by the defendant gym...