Fairness. Justice.
Rule of Law.
A3999 on Governor’s Desk
July 31, 2020Legislation that will shift the cost of the COVID pandemic onto New Jersey businesses and taxpayers moved quickly in the Assembly this week. A3999 dictates that “essential workers” who contract COVID are presumed to have caught the virus on the job. The legislation was voted out of the Senate in May but was held in More »
Read More »Legislative Alert: Workers’ Comp Presumption Legislation Likely in Committee Monday
July 24, 2020Workers’ Compensation legislation – A3999 – is expected to be added to the Assembly Appropriations Committee agenda for Monday. The bill would dictate that “essential” employees who develop COVID-19 are presumed to have contracted the virus on the job. This legislation was voted out of the Senate in May but Assembly leadership did not seem More »
Read More »NJCJI/US Chamber litigation to proceed; Motion to Dismiss by NJ Attorney General is denied
July 24, 2020This week Federal District Court Judge Anne Thompson issued a procedural decision in litigation filed by NJCJI and our friends at the US Chamber defending arbitration rights in employment contracts against a legislative prohibition. The legislation, which was adopted in 2019, bans all prospective waivers of “procedural rights” in employment contracts. NJCJI explained at the More »
Read More »NJ Supreme Court Upholds Arbitration Agreement
July 17, 2020NJCJI has had our disagreements with the reluctance by NJ courts to enforce arbitration agreements. So it is worth noting when thoughtful and appropriate analysis arrives at the right outcome. This week, in an opinion by Justice Fernandez-Vina, the New Jersey Supreme Court addressed a pair of arbitration cases – Arafa v. Health Express Corporation More »
Read More »Appellate Division Upholds Arbitration Between “Sophisticated Buyers”
July 10, 2020An appellate division appeal involving arbitration – 1567 South Realty, LLC and Butler Nissan v. Strategic Contract Brands – was decided this week. The decision clarified that the controversial arbitration-specific doctrine announced in Atalese v. U.S. Legal Services Group does not apply in cases involving commercial entities with equal bargaining power. Butler Nissan and Strategic More »
Read More »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 »
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