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APPEALS ADDED IN THE NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT LISTED NEWEST TO OLDEST

The following statements of issues on appeal are prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the convenience of the reader. They have been neither reviewed nor approved by the Supreme Court. Please note that, in the interest of brevity, some issues may not have been summarized.

Beginning on July 16, 2010, each appeal summary posted on this website includes its "posted" date, which is necessary for calculating certain due dates for filing briefs and motions under revised Rule 1:13-9, "Amicus Curiae."

In addition, website addresses cited in the Court's opinions may change or disappear over time. An attempt has been made to capture the material cited in an opinion and to provide links to those sources, when available.

A-38-12 State v. Kenneth W. Verpent (071272)

Did the trial court err in denying defendant's motion to suppress the results of the urine test; did the trial court abuse its discretion in admitting certain expert testimony that was allegedly beyond the scope of the expert's qualifications; and did the trial court impermissibly allow expert testimony on the ultimate issue of fact?

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  • Certification granted : Jan. 16, 2013
  • Posted: Jan. 23, 2013
  • Argued: Nov. 6, 2013
  • Reargued: Dec. 3, 2014
  • Decided: May 12, 2015

A-37-12 State v. Michael Lamb (071262)

Was consent by an occupant to search the premises constitutionally effective against a third party when an absent cotenant has objected to the search?

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  • Certification granted : Jan. 16, 2013
  • Posted: Jan. 23, 2013
  • Argued: Oct. 22, 2013
  • Decided: May 12, 2015

A-36-12 Luis Perez v. Zagami, LLC d/b/a The Landmark Americana Tap & Grill (071358)

Does the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, N.J.S.A. 10:6-1 to -2, apply to defendants not acting under color of State law?

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  • Certification granted : Jan. 11, 2013
  • Posted: Jan. 11, 2013
  • Argued: Jan. 21, 2014
  • Decided: May 21, 2014

A-35-12 State v. Christopher Dekowski (071019)

Do the circumstances of this case, including defendant's unusual behavior and handing a bank teller a note that demanded money and stated he had a bomb, support a finding of first-degree armed robbery by simulation, or must the conviction must be reduced to second-degree robbery because there was no evidence defendant actually had a bomb or other weapon?

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  • Certification granted : Dec. 13, 2012
  • Posted: Dec. 14, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 8, 2013
  • Decided: Aug. 11, 2014

A-33/34-12 Robert B. Beim v. Trevor R. Hulfish (071025)

Where federal estate taxes were greater than they might have been if the decedent had died in a later year, is the corresponding loss in the heir's anticipated inheritance recoverable as "pecuniary injuries" under the Wrongful Death Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:31-1 to -6?

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  • Certification granted : Dec. 13, 2012
  • Posted: Dec. 14, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 24, 2013
  • Decided: Jan. 28, 2014

A-32-12 C.A. v. Eric Bentolila, M.D (071702)

Is the hospital memorandum concerning the circumstances surrounding plaintiff's birth privileged from disclosure under the confidentiality provisions of the Patient Safety Act, N.J.S.A. 26:2H-12.23 to -12.25?

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  • Certification granted : Dec. 6, 2012
  • Posted: Dec. 6, 2012
  • Argued: Nov. 6, 2013
  • Reargued: Feb. 3, 2014
  • Decided: Sept. 29, 2014

A-31-12 State v. Cesar A. Lipa (071011)

Did the trial court appropriately apply the standards of State v. Slater, 198 N.J. 20145 (2009), in deciding defendant's pre-sentence motion to withdraw his guilty plea?

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  • Certification granted : Nov. 30, 2012
  • Posted: Dec. 6, 2012
  • Argued: Feb. 3, 2014
  • Decided: Sept. 25, 2014

A-30-12 State v. Roger Paul Frye (070975)

May defendant's two prior convictions for driving while intoxicated be counted to sentence him as a third-time offender for a conviction of refusal to submit to a chemical breath test under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a; and should defendant have been permitted to withdraw his guilty plea to refusal under the circumstances of this case?

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  • Certification granted : Nov. 16, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 16, 2012
  • Argued: Feb. 3, 2014
  • Decided: June 3, 2014

A-29-12 Isabel Nichols v. Board of Trustees, Public Employees' Retirement System (071285)

For purposes of an application for accidental disability retirement benefits under N.J.S.A. 43:15A-43, did the employee's fall on an ice-covered entrance into the workplace approximately one-half hour before her designated start time occur "during" and as a result of the performance" of her "regular and assigned duties"?

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  • Certification granted : Nov. 16, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 16, 2012
  • Argued: Nov. 4, 2013
  • Dismissed as improvidently granted : Nov. 13, 2013

A-28-12 State of New Jersey, in the Interest of K.O., a Minor (070406)

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-44 (d)(3), which permits imposing an extended term sentence on a "juvenile who was adjudged delinquent on two separate occasions" for second-degree offenses, may the current delinquency adjudication be counted as one of the two requisite adjudications?

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  • Certification granted : Nov. 9, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 13, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 23, 2013
  • Decided: Feb. 24, 2014

A-27-12 State v. David M. Gibson (070910)

Under the circumstances of this case, was there probable cause to arrest defendant for defiant trespass and was defendant properly subject to a subsequent search at the police station?

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  • Certification granted : Nov. 9, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 13, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 8, 2013
  • Decided: Jan. 7, 2014

A-26-12 Nowell James v. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co. (071344)

Does N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1(f), which amended the statute on uninsured and underinsured motorists to prohibit use of "step-down" provisions to reduce coverage available to an insured's employees, apply retroactively to claims arising out of accidents that occurred and policies in existence prior to the effective date of the amendment; and if so, should the doctrine of manifest injustice be applied to bar retroactive application in this case?

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  • Certification granted : Nov. 9, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 13, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 7, 2013
  • Decided: Feb. 3, 2014

A-25-12 Estate of Stanley Kosakowski v. Director, New Jersey Division of Taxation (071319)

Does the doctrine manifest injustice bar the retroactive application of amendments to the estate tax statute, N.J.S.A. 54:38-1, under the circumstances of this case?

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  • Certification granted : Nov. 9, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 13, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 24, 2013
  • Order dismissed as improvidently granted : Oct. 2, 2013

A-22/23/24-12 Wayne Davis v. Brickman Landscaping, Ltd (071310)

What is the standard of care for determining whether defendants negligently inspected a hotel's fire sprinkler system; and was the opinion of plaintiff's expert regarding that standard of care an impermissible net opinion?

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  • Certification granted : Nov. 9, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 13, 2012
  • Argued: March 4, 2014
  • Decided: Sept. 15, 2014

A-21-12 State v. Sean Bell (070736)

May a defendant apply for admission into the pretrial intervention program after being tried and found guilty of only a third-degree offense?

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  • Certification granted : Nov. 5, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 7, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 23, 2013
  • Decided: May 13, 2014

A-20-12 State v. James W. Robinson (070556)

May a criminal defendant be sentenced to two extended term sentences, one mandatory and one discretionary, consistent with the prohibition against multiple extended terms, N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5a(2), and State v. Pennington, 154 N.J. 344 (1998)?

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  • Certification granted : Nov. 5, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 7, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 9, 2013
  • Decided: June 5, 2014

A-19-12 State v. Terry Cornelius Jones (070733)

Was defendant entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his petition for post-conviction relief on his ineffective assistance of counsel claim?

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  • Certification granted : Oct. 25, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 1, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 21, 2013
  • Decided: Sept. 23, 2014

A-18-12 State v. Reinaldo Fuentes (070729)

Did the trial court err in finding and weighing the aggravating factors in imposing defendant's sentence?

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  • Certification granted : Oct. 25, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 1, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 9, 2013
  • Decided: Jan. 7, 2014

A-17-12 Manahawkin Convalescent v. Frances O'Neill (071033)

Does the "learned professional" exception preclude application of the Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 to -20, to a nursing home?

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  • Certification granted : Oct. 25, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 1, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 22, 2013
  • Decided: March 11, 2014

A-16-12 Martin O'Boyle v. Borough of Longport (070999)

Are the documents requested from the Borough protected from access under the Open Public Records Act because they are protected by the attorney work-product privilege and common interest doctrine?

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  • Certification granted : Oct. 25, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 1, 2012
  • Argued: Nov. 18, 2013
  • Decided: July 21, 2014