Posted Date | Name of Case (Docket Number) | Type |
---|---|---|
April 2, 2019 |
LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE, ETC. VS. JOSE R. RODRIGUEZ (L-2564-17, MIDDLESEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
(A-0112-17T4)
In this appeal, the court held that reimbursement of a section 40 workers' compensation lien following a recovery in a third-party action should be based on the fee ratio calculated for the overall settlement and not the sliding contingent fee scale set forth in Rule 1:21-7. Our Supreme Court's holding in Caputo v. Best Foods, Inc., 17 N.J. 259 (1955) is still controlling law. |
Appellate |
April 1, 2019 |
ROSANNA PRUENT-STEVENS VS. TOMS RIVER TWP. (TAX COURT OF NEW JERSEY)
(A-1264-17T2)
N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.30(b) provides that the surviving spouse of a military veteran who meets the statutory requirements for a property tax exemption is also entitled to the exemption which "shall continue during the surviving spouse's widowhood or widowerhood." Plaintiff was married to a veteran who met all the statutory requirements except that he was not "declared to have suffered a service-connected disability." Although the veteran passed away in 1989, the United States Veteran's Administration declared in 2014 that he suffered from a service-related disability as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange, thus qualifying him for an exemption. As a result, plaintiff filed for a surviving spouse exemption. Because plaintiff had remarried in 1993, the court determined plaintiff did not qualify for the exemption. The court interpreted the property-tax-exemption statutory scheme and concluded the Legislature intended the right to an exemption for a veteran's surviving spouse continued only during her widowhood from the veteran. The right to the exemption was extinguished upon her remarriage notwithstanding that she, at the time of her application for the exemption, was again widowed after the passing of her second husband in 1997. Recognizing that statutes granting property tax exemptions are subject to strict construction, the court held: "It is not our intent to deny a tax exemption to the widow of a disabled combat-veteran. But it is not our role to amend statutes to ordain what we may deem laudable." |
Appellate |
April 1, 2019 |
State v. A.M
(A-76-17 ; 080744)
Although the better practice would have been to read aloud the form’s waiver portion to defendant, the Court relies on the trial court’s well-supported observations and factual findings and reverses the Appellate Division’s judgment. |
Supreme |
March 29, 2019 |
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ANTOINE MCCRAY STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. SAHAILE GABOUREL (17-11-1346, MIDDLESEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE; W-2018-3276-0906, HUDSON COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (CONSOLIDATED) (RECORD IMPOUNDED)
(A-3745-17T6/A-0358-18T6)
A defendant who violates a condition in a pretrial release order entered pursuant to the Criminal Justice Reform Act (CJRA or the Act), N.J.S.A. 2A:162-15 to -26, may be charged with contempt of court under N.J.S.A. 2C:29-9(a). Moreover, double jeopardy principles do not preclude the State from charging the defendant with contempt based on his or her failure to comply with the "no-new offense" condition of the release order, and also charging the defendant with commission of that new offense. |
Appellate |
March 29, 2019 |
PARK CREST CLEANERS, LLC, ET AL. VS. A PLUS CLEANERS AND ALTERATIONS CORP., ET AL. (C-000078-14, CAMDEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
(A-1867-17T4)
Defendants failed to perfect a prior appeal, which the court dismissed on its own motion, leaving for disposition only issues raised by a non-party in a cross-appeal, to which only plaintiffs responded. The cross-appeal was decided on its merits, with the court remanding only for entry of an amended judgment in the cross-appellant's favor. After entry of the amended judgment, defendants filed an appeal. The court dismissed the appeal because the arguments posed by defendants in the new appeal – arguments that challenged evidence rulings made during a trial that occurred more than two years earlier, as well as the trial judge's disposition of pretrial and post-trial motions – could have been pursued and decided in defendants' prior, abandoned appeal. |
Appellate |
March 27, 2019 |
JUSTIN WILD VS. CARRIAGE FUNERAL HOLDINGS, INC., ET AL. (L-0687-17, BERGEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
(A-3072-17T3)
Plaintiff appeals the dismissal, pursuant to Rule 4:6-2, of his complaint, which alleged defendant terminated his employment as a funeral director because, as a cancer sufferer, he was prescribed and used medical marijuana in conformity with the Compassionate Use Act, N.J.S.A. 24:6I-1 to -16. Plaintiff claimed his termination violated the Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49. The trial judge dismissed the action, concluding that the Compassionate Use Act does not require employers to accommodate an employee's use of medical marijuana. The court reversed because the Compassionate Use Act only declares that "nothing" in that Act "requires" such an accommodation, N.J.S.A. 24:6I-14; while that language plainly expressed that the Compassionate Use Act had not created such an obligation, it also plainly did not foreclose the existence of such an obligation elsewhere, such as in the Law Against Discrimination, which makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate because of an employee's disability, N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(a). Moreover, the Compassionate Use Act expressly disavowed in that Act only an obligation to accommodate the use of medical marijuana "in any workplace," N.J.S.A. 24:6I-14, and plaintiff alleged he sought an accommodation for his use "off site" and after hours. |
Appellate |
March 27, 2019 |
Vincent and Rose Mary Piscitelli v. City of Garfield Zoning Board of Adjustment, et al.
(A-68-17 ; 079900)
The Court reverses and remands for further proceedings to decide whether any Zoning Board member had a disqualifying conflict of interest in hearing the application for site plan approval and variances in this case. The trial court must assess two separate bases for a potential conflict of interest. First, did Dr. Kenneth -- as president or a member of the Board of Education -- have the authority to vote on significant matters relating to the employment of Zoning Board members or their immediate family members? Second, did any Zoning Board members or an immediate family member have a meaningful patient-physician relationship with any of the three Conte doctors? If the answer to either of those questions is yes, then a conflict of interest mandated disqualification and the decision of the Zoning Board must be vacated. The Court does not possess sufficient information to answer those questions. |
Supreme |
March 27, 2019 |
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. G.E.P. STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. R.P. STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. C.P. STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. C.K. (11-02-0138, MORRIS COUNTY, 07-11-1924, BERGEN COUNTY, 13-08-0761, GLOUCESTER COUNTY, AND 15-09-2680, CAMDEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (CONSO
(A-2065-15T2/A-0556-16T1/A-1455-16T3/A-3280-16T1)
The court consolidates these four appeals for the purpose of writing a single opinion because they all present the issue of whether State v. J.L.G., 234 N.J. 265, 272 (2018), should be applied retroactively to reverse defendants' convictions of child sexual assault where an expert in "Child Sexual Assault Accommodation Syndrome" (CSAAS) was permitted to testify at trial. We accord J.L.G. pipeline retroactivity and reverse, because, given the State's reliance on the credibility of the victims and the paucity of other supporting evidence, the admission of CSAAS expert testimony in these four cases calls into question the validity of the guilty verdicts. |
Appellate |
March 26, 2019 |
Joshua Haines v. Jacob W. Taft; Tuwona Little v. Jayne Nishimura
(A-13/14-17 ; 079600)
The Court cannot conclude that there is evidence of a clear intention on the part of the Legislature to deviate from the carefully constructed no-fault first-party PIP system of regulated coverage of contained medical expenses and return to fault-based suits consisting solely of economic damages claims for medical expenses in excess of an elected lesser amount of available PIP coverage. Unless the Legislature makes such an intent clearly known, the Court will not assume that such a change was intended by the Legislature through its amendments to the no-fault system in the Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act. |
Supreme |
March 25, 2019 |
Frank Caraballo v. City of Jersey City Police Department
(A-71-17 ; 080467)
Caraballo’s failure to utilize the Act’s administrative remedies to obtain knee replacement surgery precludes his failure-to-accommodate claim under the LAD. In addition, Caraballo’s total knee replacement surgery cannot qualify as a reasonable accommodation under the LAD. |
Supreme |
March 22, 2019 |
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. B.A. (13-08-2454, CAMDEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (RECORD IMPOUNDED)
(A-4214-15T4)
Defendant was convicted of third-degree stalking and he appealed. The court affirms the constitutionality of the anti-stalking statute as it was amended in 2009, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-10, holding that it is not facially overbroad nor unconstitutionally broad or vague as applied to defendant. The court rejects defendant's other claims that he was deprived of a fair trial. |
Appellate |
March 22, 2019 |
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. NASIR A. FINNEMAN (32-15, CAMDEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
(A-1465-16T2)
The court held this indigent defendant should not have been required to proceed unrepresented in his appeal of a municipal court conviction. It resulted in a consequence of magnitude. Defendant did not waive his right to counsel, assumed he would be assigned a third attorney after two were relieved, and did not engage in such egregious conduct as to constitute a forfeiture of his right to representation. The conviction was thus reversed and the matter remanded for a new trial de novo in the Law Division. |
Appellate |
March 20, 2019 |
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. THOMAS H. OUTLAND (14-08-0751, UNION COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
(A-1307-16T3)
During defendant's robbery trial, in his case-in-chief, he moved into evidence a 9-1-1 tape of his call to police. The trial judge admitted the evidence under two exceptions to the hearsay rule: present sense impression, N.J.R.E. 803(c)(1), and excited utterance, N.J.R.E. 803(c)(2). The judge allowed the State, in rebuttal, to introduce defendant's sanitized criminal history for impeachment purposes pursuant to N.J.R.E. 806 and gave the Model Jury Charge (Criminal), "Credibility - Prior Conviction of a Defendant," (rev. Feb. 24, 2003). The court concluded that the admission of the prior criminal history was proper, accompanied by the limiting instruction. Although defendant did not testify, the rule allows the use of impeaching material when hearsay is introduced. |
Appellate |
March 13, 2019 |
State v. Ibnmauric Anthony
(A-11-17 ; 079344)
Because Rule 3:11 was not fully followed, and because the record does not reveal whether the shortcomings were technical or substantive, the Court remands for a full hearing consistent with Wade and Henderson. Based on the evidence developed at the hearing, the trial court will be in the best position to determine whether a new trial is warranted. |
Supreme |
March 12, 2019 |
State v. Andrew J. Fede
(A-53-17 ; 079997)
The Court stresses that the police officers had the right to enter defendant’s home under the emergency-aid doctrine, which permits warrantless entry under circumstances like those presented in this case. Because defendant’s refusal to remove the door chain did not constitute an affirmative interference for purposes of obstructing justice within the meaning of the obstruction statute, the Court reverses the judgment of the Appellate Division and vacates defendant’s conviction. |
Supreme |
March 12, 2019 |
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ROBERT J. KOSCH, JR. (13-05-0187 AND 13-05-0188, SUSSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
(A-0520-18T1)
In defendant's original appeal, the court reversed three convictions of theft of immovable property and remanded for a new trial, leaving the other six convictions intact. State v. Kosch, 444 N.J. Super. 368 (App. Div.), certif. denied, 227 N.J. 369 (2016). The trial judge then resentenced defendant on the other six convictions – to the same aggregate sentence – without disposing of the three remanded charges; the court reversed because, among other things, the trial judge failed to comply with the prior mandate. State v. Kosch, 454 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2018). The State then voluntarily dismissed the three remanded charges, and the judge resentenced defendant; to reach an aggregate sentence the equivalent of the original sentence, the judge imposed for the first time a fifteen-year extended term on one of the remaining convictions – to which defendant had originally been sentenced to a non-extended seven-year term. In this third appeal, the court followed State v. Rodriguez, 97 N.J. 263 (1984), and adhered to State v. Young, 379 N.J. Super. 498 (App. Div. 2005), in finding no double jeopardy or due process violations because the new sentence did not exceed in the aggregate that which was originally imposed and which defendant had begun serving. But the court also held that just because the sentencing judge possessed the constitutional authority to impose the same aggregate sentence didn't mean he should have. The court remanded for resentencing because, by imposing the same sentence, the judge failed to adequately appreciate the impact caused by the absence of three convictions on which the original sentence was imposed. |
Appellate |
March 11, 2019 |
State v. Adrian A. Vincenty
(A-40-17 ; 079978)
The record reveals that the detectives failed to inform Vincenty of the charges filed against him when they read him his rights and asked him to waive his right against self-incrimination. That failure deprived Vincenty of the ability to knowingly and intelligently waive his right against self-incrimination. Pursuant to A.G.D., Vincenty’s motion to suppress should have been granted. |
Supreme |
March 8, 2019 |
STATE OF NEW JERSEY V. S.A.
(12-11-01278)
The question presented is whether or not defendant is entitled to jail credit for time spent detained outside of New Jersey to answer foreign charges. Defendant was arrested and detained in New Jersey on New Jersey charges. He was thereafter transferred to the Metropolitan Correctional Center to answer federal charges which were lodged subsequent to his New Jersey charges. Because defendant’s transfer was performed pursuant to the Interstate Agreement on Detainers, defendant was always in New Jersey custody and is entitled to jail credit for time spent detained outside of New Jersey to answer foreign charges. |
Trial |
March 7, 2019 |
Evangelos Dimitrakopoulos v. Borrus, Goldin, Foley, Vignuolo, Hyman and Stahl, P.C.
(A-46-17 ; 080357)
The Court reiterates its holding in Olds that the entire controversy doctrine does not compel a client to assert a legal malpractice claim against an attorney in the underlying litigation in which the attorney represents the client. 150 N.J. at 443. However, the collection action at issue in this matter was not an “underlying action” as that term is used in Olds, and the entire controversy doctrine may bar the claim. The record of this appeal, however, is inadequate for an application of the equitable rules that govern here. |
Supreme |
March 6, 2019 |
IMO Yaron Helmer
(D-17-17 ; 080110)
In this case, because the record lacks clear and convincing evidence that respondent orchestrated the alleged misconduct, the OAE’s complaint must be dismissed. That said, the record highlights a series of troublesome practices and leaves a number of questions unanswered. The Court briefly addresses some of those areas to offer guidance to private practitioners and prosecutors. |
Supreme |