In the last several weeks, this blog has largely focused on Supreme Court decisions and grants of review. That was not meant to slight the Appellate Division, whose judges have made some important rulings as well. Here are summaries of some of the most significant published rulings of the Appellate Division during that period: Sosa v. Massachusetts Bay Ins. Co., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2019). In an opinion by Judge Ostrer that focused on the language and effect of a water damage exclusion in the subject homeowner’s insurance policy, the Appellate Division reversed a summary...

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Tully v. Mirz, 457 N.J. Super. 11 (App. Div. 2018).  This opinion by Judge Geiger today addresses the question of what claims, between two owners of a closely-held corporation, are properly considered derivative claims and what claims are correctly treated as direct claims.  After a one-day bench trial, the trial court dismissed the complaint for lack of standing, asserting that all claims presented were derivative claims that could not be brought directly.  Applying de novo review of the purely legal issue of standing, the Appellate Division affirmed in part and reversed in part, ordering a...