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NJ Supreme Court further clarifies principles for aggregate proofs of damages
June 26, 2020The New Jersey Supreme Court has clarified the applicability of aggregate proofs, as opposed to actual damages. Justice Anne Patterson wrote the opinion in Little v. Kia Motors America, a class action involving claims over faulty brakes. The Court rejected the plaintiff’s theory of damages, which was based on the cost of brake repairs on classwide aggregate proofs. “A class action does not dispense More »
Read More »Class certification question heading to New Jersey Supreme Court
June 26, 2020New Jersey Supreme Court has granted cert in Baskin v. P.C. Richard & Son, LLC. Plaintiffs are appealing an appellate division decision upholding the trial court denial of class certification at the pleading stage. The putative class action alleges violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), which prohibits retailers who accept credit or debit cards from printing the expiration date More »
Read More »U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Arbitration, Again
June 19, 2020A familiar case will soon be back at the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court has agreed to hear another arbitration case in the coming term: Henry Schein, Inc. v. Archer and White Sales. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because this is the second trip to the U.S. Supreme Court for these litigants. You will More »
Read More »“Right to Refuse Work” Guidance Released by NJDOL
June 12, 2020The New Jersey Department of Labor released new guidance on employees who quit their jobs or refuse to return to work out of fear that their working conditions are “unsafe, unhealthful, or dangerous.” Existing case law limits the availability of UI when an employee quits his or her job. The working conditions must have been More »
Read More »New Jersey Re-Opening
June 12, 2020Governor Phil Murphy announced changes to the stay-at-home order this week, loosening restrictions on indoor and outdoor gatherings. Executive Order 152 permits indoor gatherings of up to 50 people or 25% of building capacity, provided people wear masks and stand six feet apart. Outdoor gatherings are also permitted with up to 100 people. The governor More »
Read More »RISA Applies to Service Contracts
June 5, 2020The New Jersey Supreme Court decision in Henry Sanchez v. Fitness Factory Edgewater, LLC, has clarified the application of the Retail Installment Sales Act (RISA). The Court reversed the Appellate Division panel below, which had found that “to fall within RISA’s purview, a contract for the sale of goods or services must involve financing. The decision also More »
Read More »NJ Supreme Court Expands Liability for Asbestos
June 5, 2020The New Jersey Supreme Court extended the scope of liability for asbestos this week, in the case of Whelan v. Armstrong International, Inc. It was another step in the ongoing search for solvent defendants with capacity to pay for asbestos-related injuries, now including manufacturers who concededly had not manufactured the asbestos causing plaintiff’s injury. The More »
Read More »Appellate division disappointment on class certification
May 29, 2020There was a disappointing unpublished decision out of the appellate division this week in Sutton v. Hoffman LaRoche, Inc., the City of Clifton, the Township of Nutley, and Deluxe Corporation. The appellate division panel of Judges Fisher, Accurso and Gilson upheld the trial judge’s class certification order, which granted certification of a class of all More »
Read More »Does the Independent Contractor Issue Have Legs?
May 15, 2020There was an interesting special election this week in California’s 25th congressional district. Suburban California congressional races don’t normally merit attention in New Jersey, but this contest featured a fight over classification for independent contractors. The Cook Political Report rates it as a swing district, but Hillary Clinton carried the district by 7 points in More »
Read More »Workers’ Comp Legislation Out of Senate
May 15, 2020Legislation to make “essential employees” who develop COVID-19 presumptively eligible for workers’ compensation was voted out of the Senate Labor Committee on Tuesday, May 12th and then out of the Senate on Thursday, May 14. The vote was 27-11, with two Republicans voting for it. Advocates for S2380 argued that the legislation was needed to More »
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