Appellate Division

Involuntary Commitments Orders Don’t Become Moot Merely Because Confinement Has Ended

In re Civil Commitment of C.M., 458 N.J. Super. 563 (App. Div. 2019).  The doctrine of mootness enables courts to avoid disputes that are not “live.”  Today’s opinion by Judge Fisher, in the context of three appeals that pose the ...

Where Sample Primary Election Ballots Are Required to be Printed in English and Spanish, Official Primary Ballots Must Also Be

Correa v. Grossi, 458 N.J. Super. 571 (App. Div. 2019).  Multiple pieces of related legislation can be inconsistent, and courts are called on to harmonize them using classic principles of statutory interpretation.  Today’s opinion by Judge Reisner applied de novo ...

The Appellate Division Must Adhere to Supreme Court Precedents, Despite Contrary Appellate Division Authority

Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Rodriguez, 458 N.J. Super. 515 (App. Div. 2019).  This short opinion by Judge Firko today involved how to calculate reimbursement to an insurer for its workers’ compensation benefits paid to an injured insured where the insured ...

If You Appeal But Don’t Follow Through, Don’t Come Back Later With Your Issues From the Abandoned Appeal

Park Crest Cleaners, LLC v. A Plus Cleaners & Alterations Corp., 458 N.J. Super. 465 (App. Div. 2019).  This opinion by Judge Fisher today dismissed an appeal under convoluted facts.  To dramatically oversimplify (and it’s worth reading the opinion, which, ...

Law Against Discrimination is Not Limited by the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act

Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc., 458 N.J. Super. 416 (App. Div. 2019).  Plaintiff in this case under the Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49 (“LAD”), used medical marijuana, as authorized by the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, N.J.S.A. ...

The Local Government Ethics Law and Super Storm Sandy

Mondsini v. Local Finance Board, 458 N.J. Super. 290 (App. Div. 2019).  This opinion by Judge Messano deals with an issue under the Local Government Ethics Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.1 to -22.5 (“LGEL”) that was occasioned by Super Storm Sandy in ...

Damages to a Motor Vehicle From an Accident Can Include Damages for the “Stigma” of Being in an Accident Even Though the Vehicle in Question Was Repaired to Its Pre-Accident Condition

Financial Services Vehicle Trust v. Panter, 458 N.J. Super. 244 (App. Div. 2019).  This appeal actually involved four consolidated cases, all of them originating in the Small Claims Part of the Superior Court.  In each case, the plaintiff had been ...

Courts Can Consider Arguments Not Raised Below in Order “To Accomplish a Just Result”

In re Robert Brown, Police Sergeant (PM0622N), City of Salem, 458 N.J. Super. 284 (App. Div. 2019).   As discussed here, in general, appellate courts will not review issues that were not raised in the court below.  In this opinion by ...

In Wrongful Death Cases, No Expert Testimony is Needed to Establish the Value of the Services of a Loved One

Dutton v. Rando, 458 N.J. Super. 213 (App. Div. 2019).  In Lesniak v. County of Bergen, 117 N.J. 12 (1989), the Supreme Court stated that expert testimony is not required to establish the value of services such as advice, guidance, ...

Filing a Criminal Complaint as a Means of Collecting on an Invoice is an Unconscionable Commercial Practice That Warrants Attorneys’ Fees Under the Consumer Fraud Act

Jacobs v. Lindsay and Son Plumbing and Heating, Inc., 458 N.J. Super. 194 (App. Div. 2019).  The defendant in this appeal, Mark Lindsay and Son Plumbing & Heating, Inc. (“MLSP”) has had “a history of instituting criminal actions as a ...