After a Lull, The Supreme Court Grants Review in Six Cases

It had been nearly one month, since January 18, 2019, since the Supreme Court last added cases to its docket.  However, the Court has now announced grants of certification in six cases. In Minsavage v. Board of Trustees, Teachers’ Pension ...

The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority Cannot Condemn Land for Potential Use in the Indefinite Future

Casino Reinvestment Development Authority v. Birnbaum, 458 N.J. Super. 173  (App. Div. 2019).  On January 7, 2019, the Appellate Division decided Borough of Glassboro v. Grossman, 457 N.J. Super. 416  (App. Div. 2019), as discussed here.  The key takeaway from ...

The Two-Court Rule

In reading an unpublished Appellate Division decision recently, I learned about the “two-court rule.”  That rule, which dates back at least as far as a 1949 Supreme Court of the United States decision, Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. v. Linde ...

Fee for Filing Documents Electronically in a County Register’s Office Was Not Authorized by Statute or Otherwise

New Jersey Land Title Association v. Rone, 458 N.J. Super. 120 (App. Div. 2019).  May a County Register or Clerk charge a surcharge or convenience fee when a document is filed electronically?  That was the question that today’s opinion by ...

Barring Owner of Two-Family Home From Leasing Both Units to Renters is Unlawful

Tirpak v. Borough of Point Pleasant Beach, 457 N.J. Super. 441 (App. Div. 2019).  This per curiam opinion, issued today by a panel consisting of Judges Sabatino, Haas, and Sumners, affirms a decision of Judge Marlene Lynch Ford of the ...

The Appellate Division Confesses Error

State v. Berisha, 458 N.J. Super. 105 (App. Div. 2019).  None of us likes to admit our mistakes.  That includes judges, of course, though judges sometimes do change their minds, as discussed here. Yesterday, Judge Fisher issued a panel opinion ...

A New Test for Defining “Merchandise” Under the Consumer Fraud Act

All the Way Towing, LLC v. Bucks County International, Inc., 236 N.J. 431 (2019).  Plaintiffs (an individual and his company, treated as one plaintiff here) purchased a customized tow truck from defendant.  Though it was customized, any member of the ...

Converting a Non-Precedential Appellate Opinion Into a Precedential One

In both the Appellate Division and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, most opinions issued are not precedential.  Sometimes, however, parties wish to have a not precedential opinion changed to a precedential one so that it can be cited by ...

The Supreme Court Grants Certification in Five Cases

Late last Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in five more cases.  There are four civil appeals and one criminal matter. The criminal case is actually two consolidated Megan’s Law appeals, with the lead case being ...

Legislative Silence About Statute of Limitations When Amending Statute Did Not Effect Reduction of Prior Limitations Period

The Plastic Surgery Center, PA v. Malouf Chevrolet-Cadillac, Inc., 457 N.J. Super. 565 (App. Div. 2019).  This opinion today by Judge Fisher was so legal issue-intensive that he found that the factual “details of these cases need not clutter [his] ...