Opinion Summaries

In this appeal from proceeding filed in the Family Part involving the cremation remains and personal effects of the parties' son, who died unexpectedly and suddenly at age twenty, the mother unilaterally decided to have the body cremated without informing the father that their son had died, preventing him from participating in that decision and attending the memorial service.  The mother has sole possession of the cremation remains and the son's remaining personal effects and refuses to divide them with the father.  

The court concluded the father had ample opportunity to litigate Colleen's alleged alienation of their son's affection and interference with his parenting time and communication with his late son in the Family Part during the years leading up to his son's eighteenth birthday.  He chose not to do so, and instead waited until the dispute over the cremation remains and personal effects erupted more than two years after their son turned eighteen to first raise those issues.  The court deemed those issues waived and, in turn, concluded that a plenary hearing regarding the parties conduct during the last five years of their son's life is not required as the evidence overwhelming demonstrated the mother had a closer relationship with their son.  Applying a four-prong test, the court held the mother shall have control over the cremation remains.  

The court affirmed the termination of child support, retroactive to the date of death.  

The court also provides guidance on the proper procedure to be utilized in future similar disputes, by filing a complaint in the Probate Part, rather than applications in the Family Part.  

These consolidated appeals present an issue of first impression – whether plaintiffs state viable claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, conversion, or money had and received, because the universities they attended transitioned to total online instruction rather than an in-person, on-campus education experience for which they paid, during the statewide health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The universities contend they are immune from liability pursuant to the Emergency Health Powers Act (EHPA), N.J.S.A. 26:13-1 to -36, because their decisions to pause in-person instruction were made in compliance with the executive orders issued by the Governor during a public health emergency to limit the spread of COVID-19 among students, faculty, and the community.  

The court affirms the Rule 4:6-2(e) dismissal of plaintiffs' complaints for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, concluding the universities are immune from liability under N.J.S.A. 26-13-19.  

In this appeal, plaintiff American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU) contended defendant County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey (CPANJ) is a public agency subject to records requests under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and the common law right of access.  The ACLU requested CPANJ to produce documents regarding CPANJ's funding, the context and contents of its meetings and events (including dates, times, and locations), and the people performing its operating functions.  CPANJ denied the records request in its entirety, contending it is "not a public agency subject to the dictates of OPRA or requests made under the common law right of access." 

The court held CPANJ is not a public agency subject to OPRA and is not a public entity subject to the common law right of access.  Therefore, disclosure of the requested records was properly denied.  

This case addresses the issue of whether sales tax should be included when calculating the "full retail value" of merchandise under New Jersey's shoplifting gradation statute.  N.J.S.A. 2C:20-11(c).  Defendant pled guilty to shoplifting an Xbox One with an advertised price of $499.99.  Shoplifting constitutes a crime of the third degree "if the full retail value of the merchandise exceeds $500 but is less than $75,000" and a crime of the fourth degree "if the full retail value of the merchandise is at least $200 but does not exceed $500."  N.J.S.A. 2C:20–11(c)(2) and (c)(3).    The State utilized sales tax in grading defendant's offense, and he was therefore charged with a third-degree offense.  

The court analyzed the theft statute, which specifically utilizes sales tax to calculate the "amount involved" in its statutory gradation scheme.  However, the court observed the shoplifting statute contains no such provision.  The court concluded because the Legislature did not determine sales tax should be included in the valuation of full retail value in enacting the shoplifting gradation statute, it was improper for sales tax to have been utilized to increase defendant's charge to a third-degree offense.   

Defendant's car was subjected to a warrantless search incident to an unrelated sting operation planned and carried out by New Jersey State Police.  The State Police detained defendant after a parking lot melee involving three other persons, including the target of the sting operation.  Due to the cold weather, state troopers detained defendant in his car.  After a state trooper opened defendant's car door and placed him inside, the trooper smelled the odor of marijuana.  Based on the trooper's detection of marijuana, the State Police sought defendant's consent to search the car.  After initially refusing, defendant consented, and the State Police conducted a search of the car.  The State Police found no marijuana in the car, but they recovered an illegal gun.  Defendant filed a motion to suppress the gun, arguing the initial entry into his vehicle constituted an unconstitutional search.  The trial court denied the motion, finding the State Police's justification that it was too cold to detain defendant outside was sufficient under the totality of the circumstances.

The Court held that the trial court mistakenly applied State v. Woodson, 236 N.J. Super. 537 (App. Div. 1989), and State v. Conquest, 243 N.J. Super. 528 (App. Div. 1990), and that the opening of the car door constituted an impermissible search.

Reversed and remanded.  

 Defendant was charged with first-degree murder, two weapons offenses, and hindering apprehension.  Tried to a jury, defendant was convicted of the lesser-included offense of second-degree passion-provocation manslaughter, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and not guilty of hindering apprehension.  The trial court found aggravating factors one, three, four, and nine, N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(a)(1), (3), (4), and (9), and mitigating factor seven N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(b)(7), but rejected mitigating factor nine, N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(b)(9).  Following merger of the weapons counts, he was sentenced to a nine-and-one-half-year term, subject to the parole ineligibility and parole supervision imposed by the No Early Release Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2.  

The court addressed the judicial factfinding undertaken by the trial court as part of its sentencing analysis.  The court concluded that the trial court's findings regarding the degree of provocation and sufficient time to cool off before delivering the fatal blows were contrary to the jury's verdict and violated the doctrine of fundamental fairness.  
The court also held that aggravating factor four applies to a defendant taking "advantage of a position of trust or confidence" relating to the victim "to commit the offense," not to a minor's subsequent participation in an attempted coverup of the homicide.  

The court also addressed the need for a trial court to provide a detailed explanation of how it reconciles its application of aggravating factor three and mitigating factor seven, the weight assigned to those factors, and how those factors are balanced with respect to a defendant who had no prior juvenile or criminal history and no subsequent criminal history in the decade that elapsed before his arrest.  

 The court vacated defendant's sentence and remanded for resentencing, directing the trial court to not consider whether defendant was adequately provoked or had adequate time to cool off before inflicting the fatal blows, to not apply aggravating factor four, and to apply mitigating factor fourteen.  The court further directed that the trial court reconsider whether aggravating factor three applies and if so, the weight to be given to it.  

Informed by the Legislature’s expression of public policy in N.J.S.A. 34:15-36, the Court concurs with the Appellate Division that defendant had a duty to advise the LLC members, at the time of the workers’ compensation policy’s purchase or renewal, that an LLC member actively performing services on the LLC’s behalf is eligible for workers’ compensation coverage, but that the LLC must elect to purchase such coverage in order to obtain it. Consistent with N.J.S.A. 34:15-36, however, the Court holds that defendant may not be held liable for breach of that duty unless the damages alleged were caused by defendant’s willful, wanton or grossly negligent act of commission or omission. The Court disagrees with the trial court’s assessment of the evidence presented by plaintiff on the question of proximate cause.

Plaintiff Fritzy Rivera was shot by her estranged husband after leaving a friend's apartment at Cherry Hills Towers.  She alledged defendant Vikco, Inc.'s negligence in failing to provide a safe environment as property manager of Cherry Hills Towers allowed him to enter the apartment complex through an open security gate.  Defendant was not the property manager when the assault occurred, but plaintiff contends the open security gate was a practice established by defendant and continued by the new property management company.

The motion court denied defendant's summary judgment motion to dismiss plaintiff's complaint.  Having granted defendant leave to appeal, we reverse. 

We disagree with the court's reasoning that there was a genuine issue of material fact to be determined by the jury as to whether defendant owed plaintiff a duty to provide a safe environment at Cherry Hill Towers when it was not the apartment complex's property manager at the time of the shooting.  Whether defendant owed plaintiff a duty is a question of law to be determined by the court, not by a jury at trial.  Under the circumstances of this case, we conclude our common law does not support plaintiff's theory that defendant's duty to provide a safe and secure environment at Cherry Hill Towers continued after its management services were discontinued.   Summary judgment is granted to Vikco.

This case raises a question of first impression:  whether the recently enacted amendment to the expungement statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5.3, includes violations of local ordinances, which were amended from Title 2C violations.  Petitioners, C.C. and R.O.-S. argued that the “clean slate” statute was designed to remove an individual’s entire criminal history and therefore, must include local ordinances that arise from criminal offenses.  The State proposed a strict interpretation of the statute, arguing that only convictions from indictable offenses, disorderly persons offenses, and petty disorderly persons offenses are included.  This Court concluded that a liberal interpretation of the statute is consistent with the legislative intent.  Local ordinances that arise from criminal offenses are unique in that they are accompanied by police and arrest reports, fingerprint cards, “mug shots,” complaint warrants or summonses and most importantly, they are included on an individual’s criminal case history or “RAP” sheet.  Absent an expungement of the local ordinance that resulted from the Title 2C offense, Petitioners would be left with a criminal history.  Since this is inconsistent with the intent of the “clean slate” statute, the court finds that Petitioner’s convictions are eligible for expungement pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5.3.

This litigation arises from unreimbursed medical expenses incurred by a twenty-four-year-old who was a named “adult child” dependent on his father’s health insurance policy, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-14(a), of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). This opinion addresses two questions of first impression under New Jersey law.

First, pursuant to the Statute of Frauds, specifically N.J.S.A. 25:1-15, can a family member’s oral guarantee of payment be enforceable where the promisor has no pecuniary interest? Based on the decades-long thread of pecuniary advantage woven through New Jersey’s leading object exception precedent, the court holds that oral promises supported by familial bonds only – without any pecuniary or economic advantage to the promisor – do not satisfy the leading object exception to the Statute of Frauds.

Second, can a parent, who is the insurance policy holder, be held liable for unreimbursed medical expenses incurred by an emancipated child who is a covered “adult child” dependent pursuant to the ACA? Guided by N.J.S.A. 9:17B-3, the court holds that, in the absence of any signed, written guarantee executed by the parent, the parent of an emancipated adult capable of contracting for a provider’s care cannot be deemed liable for unreimbursed medical expenses, even where the “adult dependent” is covered on the parent’s health insurance policy, pursuant to the ACA.

In this contract payment dispute between a general contractor and its subcontractor, the court held as a matter of first impression that a "pay-if-paid" provision in a construction contract is enforceable as a matter of law.  The court adopted the construction industry's definition of "pay-if-paid" provisions as conditions precedent to payment that shift the risk of a project owner's nonpayment from the general contractor to the subcontractor, by virtue of which the subcontractor is paid by the general contractor only if the owner pays the general contractor for that subcontractor's work.  The court held that subject to the parties' implied duty to not frustrate conditions precedent to performance, such provisions are neither unfair, unconscionable, nor against public policy so long as the contract specifies a clear and unambiguous intent to shift the risk of nonpayment.

 
Given the court's holding regarding the enforceability of a "pay-if-paid" provision and determination that the subcontractor expressed a clear and unambiguous intent to be bound by such terms, the court concluded that a counterclaim relying on the "pay-if-paid" provision to bar payment to the subcontractor based on the owner's nonpayment for the subcontractor's work adequately suggested a cause of action for breach of contract to withstand dismissal under Rule 4:6-2(e) for failure to state a claim.  Consequently, the court affirmed the motion judge's order denying the subcontractor's motion to dismiss the counterclaim pursuant to Rule 4:6-2(e).  However, the court reversed the motion judge's order granting summary judgment dismissal of the subcontractor's claims for payment because there was a factual dispute as to whether the owner's nonpayment was precipitated by the general contractor's wrongful conduct.

Plaintiff brought a subrogation claim against defendants to recoup insurance benefits it paid to its insured on account of damage caused by a fire at a construction site.  In an effort to obtain relevant information pertaining to the cause of the fire, the civil action parties served a subpoena duces tecum on the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office (SCPO), a non-party law enforcement agency, and moved to compel production of its criminal investigation file relating to the ongoing prosecution of the individual who was suspected of starting the fire.  The trial judge rejected the SCPO's claim that the criminal investigation materials were privileged and confidential, and ordered it to turn over to the civil action parties:  (1) videos and photographs depicting the events giving rise to the criminal prosecution, (2) the suspect's statement to police, and (3) witness statements, or alternatively, witness contact information. 

The court granted the SCPO's motion for leave to appeal and reversed the disclosure order.  Because the materials sought were subject to a qualified privilege, the court determined that the trial judge failed to properly balance the competing interests at stake.  The court held that the civil action parties' discovery interests were subordinate to the State's paramount interest in preserving the integrity of an ongoing criminal prosecution and the underlying evidential record.  The court acknowledged that the privilege was not absolute but pointed out that the materials were not essential to the resolution of the subrogation claim and the presence of significant monetary damages did not of itself outweigh the SCPO's interests in protecting and maintaining the confidentiality of its criminal investigation materials.  Further, the civil parties failed to meet their burden of demonstrating that at least some of the information could not be obtained from other sources. 

Our Supreme Court granted leave to defendants Henry Trino, Charlene Trino, Airel Trino, and Kevin Garcia to appeal the denial of their summary judgment motions to dismiss the complaint by plaintiffs Silvana Lansigan Delvalle, as administrator of Raniel Hernandez's estate and individually, and Ralph Hernandez.  These appeals were calendared back-to-back and consolidated to issue a single opinion. 

Plaintiffs' common law claims of negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, as well as the claim based on the principal of Portee v. Jaffee, 84 N.J. 88 (1980), arise from the accidental drowning of their son Raniel, while he was swimming, intoxicated, at a pool party hosted by the Trinos. 

 The trial court denied summary judgment to defendants on the ground there were genuine issues of material facts in dispute with respect to their negligence.  As to Garcia, the dispute involved his active role in Raniel's drowning.  Concerning the Trinos, the dispute involved the common law duty owed to an intoxicated Raniel and the implementation of reasonable pool safety protections to prevent his drowning.  The motion court did not address dismissal of plaintiffs' intentional infliction of emotional distress and Portee claims.

We reverse. Garcia should have been granted summary judgment because the undisputed record indicates he had no role in Raniel's decision to enter the pool, nor did he have a duty to rescue Raniel.  Furthermore, there is no indication Garcia failed to exercise good faith when he tried to save Raniel.  The Trinos should have been granted summary judgment because the Social Host Liability Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.5 to 5.8, does not govern plaintiff's drowning and, under our current state law, they owed Raniel no common law duty to prevent him from swimming while intoxicated.  As for the intentional infliction of emotional distress and Portee claims, they fail as a matter of law.  Defendants' conduct in not knowing or indicating how Raniel drowned did not constitute intentional infliction of emotional distress, and there is no viable Portee claim because plaintiffs did not witness the drowning.

This appeal raises the novel issue of whether it is appropriate for a trial court to consider acquitted conduct to determine a registrant's Megan's Law tier designation. The court held the trial court properly considered acquitted conduct because of the non-punitive, civil nature of a Megan's Law proceeding, the public safety purpose underpinning the statute, and the less demanding standard utilized to make a tier designation. The court determined this situation was distinguishable from imposing an enhanced criminal sentence based on acquitted conduct, which our Supreme Court recently held to be improper. State v. Melvin, 248 N.J. 321, 352 (2021). This is because the trial court's utilization of acquitted conduct was not for the purpose of increasing the registrant's punishment, but for a legitimate public safety purpose consistent with In re Registrant C.A., 146 N.J. 71, 80 (1996). The court remanded, however, for the trial court to conduct a more comprehensive review of the record and to consider portions of the trial transcript and other documents identified by the registrant, which he contends rebuts the acquitted conduct relied upon by the court to increase his tier classification.

A plain reading of the relevant statutes dictates that special disciplinary arbitration is not limited to municipal officers, so arbitration is available to public university police officers like Officer DiGuglielmo. Further, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-210, an officer suspended with pay prior to termination is eligible to engage in special disciplinary arbitration. The Court therefore reinstates PERC’s decision.

The Court agrees with the Appellate Division that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in deciding to hear the defendant’s waiver motion before considering his suppression motion. The Court declines, however, to adopt a preference that the Family Part hear suppression motions before waiver motions, holding instead that it is within the discretion of the Family Part to determine its schedule of proceedings and manage its calendar. The Court sets forth factors that Family Part judges should take into consideration in exercising their discretion as to the order in which to hear waiver and suppression motions.

The court granted leave to appeal to consider the enforceability of a forum selection clause contained in commercial loan agreements executed by sophisticated parties.  The court concluded such provisions are enforceable despite allegations that the contracts in which they are embedded are unenforceable due to fraud, unless the alleged fraud improperly induced assent to the forum selection clause specifically.  In doing so, the court relied upon the United States Supreme Court ruling in Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Mfg. Co., 388 U.S. 395, 403-04 (1967), and the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling in Goffe v. Foulke Mgmt. Corp., 238 N.J. 191, 216-17 (2019), both of which applied this principle to enforce arbitration provisions.  The court also acknowledged authority from other jurisdictions that have applied this rule to uphold forum selection clauses and explained that its holding aligns with the majority approach. 

In addition, distinguishing McNeil v. Zoref, 297 N.J. Super. 213, 219 (App. Div. 1997), the court held the entire controversy doctrine does not vitiate an otherwise-enforceable forum selection clause when the enforcing party is severable from the litigation.  Following Wilfred v. MacDonald Inc. v. Cushman Inc., 256 N.J. Super. 58, 65 (App. Div. 1992), the court also concluded no appreciable inconvenience would result from enforcing the forum selection clause, thereby requiring the parties to litigate their claims in Utah.  

Finally, the court held that the seven-factor analysis detailed by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Cole v. Jersey City Med. Ctr., 215 N.J. 265, 280-81 (2013) to determine whether a party waived the right to enforce an arbitration provision applies equally to the question of whether a party waived the right to enforce a forum selection clause.  The court further explained that the analysis required under Cole is necessarily fact-intensive and therefore declined to exercise original jurisdiction under Rule 2:10-5. 

After reviewing the relevant statutes and authorities that must be considered in balancing the competing interests and rights of a sexual assault victim and the person accused of the sexual offense, the Court sets forth a framework of procedures and considerations to apply going forward when a prosecutor seeks to withhold from discovery a sexual assault victim’s address. Because neither the ruling of the trial court nor that of the Appellate Division sufficiently addresses the competing interests explored in the Court’s opinion, the Court remands the matter for a more fulsome balancing of the competing interests.

The Tax Sale Law bears no hostility toward investors who otherwise meet the requirements of N.J.S.A. 54:5-89.1 when they prematurely attempt to redeem. Although the investor must always intervene before being allowed to redeem, a misstep like that which occurred here puts the tax sale certificate holder in no worse position than it would have possessed had the error not occurred. Here, because the LLC provided Calderon with more than nominal consideration and because the parties had the benefit of the chancery judge’s full consideration of their competing legal and equitable arguments, the LLC’s premature attempt to redeem should not vitiate the right to redeem it fairly acquired.

It was error to admit defendant’s statements after detectives failed to honor his invocation of the right to counsel, and that error was not harmless in light of the circumstantial nature of the evidence against defendant and his statements’ capacity to undermine his credibility before the jury.