Counsel Who Represented a State Witness in a Murder Case is Disqualified From Representing the Defendant in That Same Case

State v. Faulcon, 462 N.J. Super. 250 (App. Div. 2020). Judge Koblitz did not leave readers in suspense about the outcome of her opinion for the Appellate Division today. Her first sentence says “We hold that defense counsel who represented ...

When Does a Dismissal Preclude a Second Case?

Papera v. Pennsylvania Quarried Bluestone Co., 948 F.3d 607 (3d Cir. 2020). Plaintiffs and defendants reached what was believed to be a settlement of their case. At plaintiffs’ request, the District Court entered a dismissal order. That order said that ...

Where a Tenant is in Sole Possession and Control of a Property, the Landlord Has No Duty to the Tenant’s Invitee to Clear Snow and Ice

Shields v. Ramslee Motors, 240 N.J. 479 (2020). The Supreme Court always seems to have a snow and ice removal case on its docket. The latest one resulted in an opinion by Justice Fernandez-Vina. All other Justices joined that opinion, ...

A Party’s Trial Testimony by Contemporaneous Video Transmission

Pathri v. Kakarlamath, 462 N.J. Super. 208 (App. Div. 2020). This was a matrimonial matter. Both spouses came to the United States from India. Shortly after plaintiff filed this suit for divorce, he moved back to India. Shortly before trial, ...

Stays Pending Appeal- Another Anniversary

With relatively rare exceptions, stays pending appeal do not get a lot of attention in published cases. That is because decisions on applications for such stays, by their nature, are generally made quickly and without necessarily resulting in a published ...

Oral Argument Guidelines From the Federal Circuit

As part of a larger “Guide for Oral Argument” (dated January 2020, and designated “Version 2.0”), the Federal Circuit provided the following “Guidelines for Counsel During Argument.” Many of them are applicable as well to practice in the New Jersey ...

Plaintiffs Win Against Towing Companies in the Supreme Court, Except on Their TCCWNA Claims

Pisack v. B&C Towing, Inc., 240 N.J. 360 (2020). This matter involved multiple consolidated consumer class actions challenging the fees charged by the defendant towing companies, which towed plaintiffs’ vehicles at the direction of the police without plaintiffs’ consent. As ...

If a Defendant Waives a Personal Jurisdiction Defense, a Court Cannot Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

Triffin v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Auth., 462 N.J. Super. 172 (App. Div. 2020). Judge Fisher issued the Appellate Division’s opinion on this appeal just eight days after it was argued. The issue was not complex. Plaintiff sued several defendants for ...

Judges Koblitz and Sumners Share Their Wisdom

Last night’s meeting of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Committee featured a guest appearance by Judges Koblitz and Sumners. They took questions and shared advice about appellate practice, including what they like to see (and hear) and ...

No Conflict Preemption of New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act by the Federal Controlled Substances Act

Hager v. M&K Construction, 462 N.J. Super. 146 (App. Div. 2020). Issues relating to medical marijuana have been very contentious. Among other things, the fact that the federal government has continued to treat marijuana as a Schedule I controlled dangerous ...