Fairness. Justice.
Rule of Law.
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 »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 »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 »Strong Class Certification Decision from NJ Appellate Division
March 6, 2020The New Jersey Appellate Division has issued a strong published decision in the case of Ellen Baskin v. P.C. Richard & Son, LLC. The opinion by Judge Firko, sitting with Judges Yannotti and Hoffman, clarified and strengthened “superiority” and “predominance” requirements for class certification – affirming the trial court’s order finding plaintiffs had failed to More »
Read More »What exactly is the problem with S863?
February 21, 2020Do you understand what S863 would do? Have legislators tried to reassure you that the legislation would just “codify existing regulations”? Suggested that anyone with a problem under S863 is already out of compliance with the law? You are right to be concerned. The proposed legislation would codify a disputed agency Interpretation of the existing More »
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