Five New Temporary Assignments to the Appellate Division

Effective January 23, 2012, and continuing through April 13, 2012, Judge Allison Accurso, who had been the Presiding Judge, General Equity, Somerset County, has been temporarily assigned to Part C of the Appellate Division.  Judge Richard Hoffman, who had sat in the ...

Public Agency Supervisor May be Individually Liable Under Family Medical Leave Act

Haybarger v. Lawrence County Adult Probation & Parole, 667 F.3d 408 (3d Cir. 2012).  Plaintiff Debra Haybarger worked for defendant, an agency of the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas.  Plaintiff has several serious illnesses that caused her to miss much work time.  ...

A Unique Experience Before the Supreme Court of New Jersey

Today, I had the pleasure of arguing an important case involving choice of law, statute of limitations, and federal preemption issues before the Court.  But only one Justice, Justice Lavecchia, was present.  The Chief Justice and Justices Long, Albin, Hoens ...

“What’s in a Name?”

Emma v. Evans, 424 N.J. Super. 36 (App. Div. 2012).  The title of this post is, unsurprisingly, not my own creation.  It is the first line of this opinion by Judge Fisher, who borrowed it (with appropriate citation, of course) from Shakespeare.  ...

Supreme Court Reaffirms Rendine, Rejects Perdue v. Kenny A.

Walker v. Giuffre, 209 N.J. 124 (2012).  In Walker and Humphries v. Powder Mill Shopping Plaza, two different Appellate Division panels had each ruled that restrictive principles governing attorneys’ fee awards under federal fee-shifting statutes, as expressed in Perdue v. Kenny A., ___ U.S. ___, 130 ...

Governor Christie Nominates Two to the Supreme Court

Yesterday, Governor Christie announced his nominations to fill the Supreme Court seat that had been occupied by Justice Wallace and the seat the Justice Long will soon vacate as she turns 70.  The Senate had agreed to consider a nominee to ...

Failure to Produce Original Documents Can be Spoliation (But Not in This Case)

Bull v. United Parcel Service, Inc., 665 F.3d 68 (3d Cir. 2012).  “After declaring a mistrial, the District Court dismissed Laureen Bull’s state-law employment discrimination case as a sanction for failing to produce originals of certain medical notes requested by United Parcel ...

Tort Claims Act Bars Bicyclist’s Injury Claim Due to Small Depression in Shoulder of Road

Polzo v. County of Essex, 209 N.J. 151 (2012).  Plaintiff’s wife was riding with other bicyclists on the shoulder of an Essex County road.  She rode over a 1-1/4″ depression (a dip in the road with no break in the road’s surface, unlike ...

Trial Courts Must be Proactive in Ensuring Compliance With Rules Regarding Dismissal With Prejudice for Failure to Make Discovery

A&M Farm & Garden Center v. American Sprinkler Mechanical, LLC, 423 N.J. Super. 528 (App. Div. 2012).  No matter how often the courts inveigh against the failure of attorneys and parties to follow the detailed procedures of Rule 4:23-5 as regards dismissals with ...

An Easy One for the Supreme Court: Plain Statutory Language Controls; Retroactivity Issue Deferred

Selective Ins. Co. v. Rothman, 208 N.J. 580 (2012).  The issue in this case, which arose out of the plaintiff insurance company’s denial of personal injury protection (“PIP”) claims for payment of bills for an electrodiagnostic test known as needle electromyography (“EMG”), ...