Attorneys Whose Retainer Agreements Include Mandatory Arbitration for Malpractice Claims or Fee Disputes Must Explain the Arbitration Clause to the Client Up Front

Delaney v. Dickey, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). Justice Albin’s opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court in this case today is an important one for attorneys and their clients. The Court held that if an attorney includes in a retainer agreement ...

The Supreme Court Takes Up a Legal Malpractice Case

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in Gilbert v. Stewart. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “In this legal malpractice action, was defendant entitled to summary judgment on the grounds that ...

A Use Variance Anniversary: Ward v. Scott

On December 15, 1952, the Supreme Court decided Ward v. Scott, 11 N.J. 117 (1952). Though the municipal law applicable at the time that case was decided has largely been superseded by the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et ...

Two by Judge Fisher

Ippolito v. Ippolito, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020); Garden State Investment v. Township of Brick, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). Each of the last two days saw published opinions by Judge Fisher. Each one was short, ...

15 Years Since Creanga v. Jardal Validated Medical Opinions Based on “Differential Diagnosis”

On this date in 2005, the Supreme Court decided Creanga v. Jardal, 185 N.J. 345 (2005). In a unanimous opinion by Justice Zazzali, the Court reversed the rulings of the Law and Appellate Division that excluded, as a net opinion, ...

The Supreme Court Upholds J&J’s Tax Victory

Johnson & Johnson v. Director, Division of Taxation, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). As summarized here, the Appellate Division, in an opinion by Judge Haas, reversed a Tax Court ruling against Johnson & Johnson on cross-motions for summary judgment, giving the ...

Successive Tortfeasors and the “Settlement Credit” of Ciluffo v. Middlesex Gen’l Hosp.

Glassman v. Friedel, 465 N.J. Super. 436 (App. Div. 2020). Ciluffo v. Middlesex Gen’l Hosp., 146 N.J. Super. 476 (App. Div. 1977), was a case involving how to handle a plaintiff’s claims against “successive independent tortfeasors” when the plaintiff settles ...

Where a Party Denies Agreeing to Arbitration, a Court, Not an Arbitrator, Must Decide Threshold Issues of the Validity of the Agreement

Knight v. Vivint Solar Developer, LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). In Goffe v. Foulke Mangagement Corp., 238 N.J. 191 (2019), the Supreme Court ruled that threshold issues as to the validity of a contract that contained an ...

The Supreme Court Will Review the Exclusion of “Historical Context Testimony” in a Criminal Case

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in State v. Moore. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “Should defendant, who was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, have been permitted to ...

Should Res Ipsa Loquitur be Modified? The Appellate Division Says No, Absent a “Signal” From the Supreme Court

Pannucci v. Edgewood Park Senior Housing- Phase 1, LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). As Judge Ostrer explained in his opinion for the Appellate Division today, the “settled doctrine of res ipsa loquitur,” which means “the thing speaks ...