District Judges Sitting by Designation on Circuit Courts of Appeal

Last week’s decision in the Diamond Antitrust case, where an en banc Third Circuit undid a 2-1 panel decision in which a district judge, sitting by designation, was one of the members of the majority, raises the question of what authority there is ...

Jury Homework

State v. Morgan, 423 N.J. Super. 453 (App. Div. 2011).  Rule 1:8-8(a) states that a trial court, “in its discretion, may submit a copy of all or part of its instructions to the jury for its consideration in the jury room.”  In ...

Removal of Judges for Misconduct

One of the saddest days for the judicial system is the day that the Supreme Court finds it necessary to remove a judge from his or her judicial office in order to protect the public and the integrity of the ...

Discovery Rule Does Not Toll the Time to File a Notice of Claim Against a Public Entity

McDade v. Siazon, 208 N.J. 463 (2011).  Under the Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:8-8(a), one who wishes to make a tort claim against a public entity must first file a notice of claim within ninety days of the accrual of the cause ...

Third Circuit, En Banc, Affirms Settlement of Diamond Antitrust Class Action

Sullivan v. DB Investments, Inc., 667 F.3d 273 (3d Cir. 2011).  By a 7-2 vote, the Third Circuit, sitting en banc, disagreed with a panel decision (613 F.3d 134 (3d Cir. 2010)), vacated by the grant of en banc review) that had voided approval ...

Inherently Beneficial Use? Yes. Negative Criteria Satisifed? No.

The Salt & Light Company, Inc. v. Willingboro Tp. Bd. of Adj., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2011).  Normally, in considering whether to grant a use variance, boards of adjustment are supposed to weigh the “special reasons” for the ...

Supreme Court Will Review NAACP v. Foulke

The Supreme Court has granted a petition for certification to review the decision of the Appellate Division in NAACP of Camden County East v. Foulke Mgmt. Corp., 421 N.J. Super. 404 (App. Div. 2011).  The decision of the Appellate Division ...

Justice Patterson’s First Opinion, and the “Rule of Lenity”

State v. Regis, 208 N.J. 439 (2011).  It did not take long for Justice Patterson to write her first opinion for the Supreme Court.  As is usually the case with the first opinion of any new Justice, the case was not unusually ...

Before Brill, There Was ….

Most New Jersey lawyers know that Brill v. Guardian Life Ins. Co., 142 N.J. 520 (1995), is the seminal case that states the standards for summary judgment.  But what did lawyers cite on this subject before 1995?  The answer is Judson v. ...

An Open Public Records Act Case, With a Bonus Discussion of Attorney-Client Privilege, the Work Product Doctrine, and the Anti-Bullying Act

K.L. v. Evesham Tp. Bd. of Educ., 423 N.J. Super. 337 (App. Div. 2011).  There are not many published appellate cases in New Jersey that discuss in any detail the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine.  Though this opinion, written by ...