O’Boyle v. Borough of Longport, 426 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2012).  This is yet another Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) case.  Plaintiff was a frequent antagonist of the defendant Borough, hostility that began when the Borough cited him for a zoning ...

The NJSBA Annual Meeting in Atlantic City featured a program today on the “nuts and bolts” of appellate practice.  The panel of speakers was headed by Judges Carchman and Messano.  Naturally, many of the “nuts and bolts” were the kinds ...

W.J.A. v. D.A., 210 N.J. 229 (2012) (later-issued corrected opinion appears here).  The doctrine of “presumed damages” allows plaintiffs in defamation cases to obtain damages even without a showing of actual harm to the plaintiff’s reputation.  In slander cases (other than those involving ...

Seals v. County of Morris, 210 N.J. 157 (2012).  While driving on a snow-covered road, plaintiffs could not negotiate a curve in the road and struck a JCP&L electrical pole located near the side of that road.  The County of Morris did not ...

Sauro v. Sauro, 425 N.J. Super. 555 (App. Div. 2012).  This contentious divorce action boiled down to the complaint of a large law firm that an equitable distribution award was improper because, in making that award, the Family Part improperly elevated the interests of the ...

New Jersey Ass’n of School Adminstrators v. Schundler, 211 N.J. 535 (2012).  This case required the Supreme Court to parse and reconcile an unusually complex scheme of statutes and regulations that dealt with benefits available by contract to high-level school administrators.  In ...

In Emma v. Evans, 424 N.J. Super. 36 (App. Div. 2012), the Appellate Division addressed the question of whether the presumption in favor of the parent of primary residence who seeks a surname change for a child, established in Gubernat v. December, 140 ...

Twenty-First Century Rail Corp. v. New Jersey Transit Corp., 210 N.J. 264 (2012).  This case involved an effort to disqualify counsel in a construction case for a conflict of interest under Rule of Professional Conduct 1.9 (“RPC 1.9”).  The Law Division denied disqualification.  ...

Yesterday’s New York Times contained a column by Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court of the United States, entitled “Are Oral Arguments Worth Arguing About?”  That column makes the point that, ultimately, whether an appellate oral advocate delivers his ...

State v. Locascio, 425 N.J. Super. 474 (App. Div. 2012).  Expert opinion is an area in which decisions in the criminal realm find their way into civil cases as well.  For example, Kemp v. State, 174 N.J. 412 (2002), is often cited in ...