A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of May 30-June 5.

 

The Need for Interlocutory Review of Class Cert Decisions

David C. Kistler and Ethan M. Simon | Law.com

The general rule in New Jersey civil actions is that a final order as to all issues and all parties must be entered before a party can appeal as of right. Parties must therefore seek leave to appeal from the Appellate Division or Supreme Court of interlocutory orders entered prior to a final order. SeeRules 2:2-4 & 2:2-2. New Jersey rules impose this restriction on interlocutory appeals because “interlocutory appellate review runs counter to a judicial policy that favors an uninterrupted proceeding at the trial level with a single and complete review.” Golden Estates v. Continental Cas., 317 N.J. Super. 82, 88 (App. Div. 1998).

Full story.

 

To Be Sued Less, Doctors Should Consider Talking to Patients More

Aaron E. Carroll | New York Times’ The Upshot

Doctors call it defensive medicine. They order extra tests, perform extra procedures or push for more office visits because they think that without them, they’re at greater risk of being sued. But studies don’t support the notion that this extra precaution reduces their risk. What might help physicians avoid being sued is getting along better with their patients. Or at least, they could become better communicators.

Full story.

 

Let Voters Elect Attorney General

Asbury Park Press Editorial

New Jersey needs an elected attorney general. Don’t like that idea? You can blame Gov. Chris Christie, but not just him. His predecessors as governor have also helped lay out the groundwork that demands a change in the state’s current system, in which the AG is a gubernatorial appointee.

Full story.

 

Elderly Man’s Suit Claims Apple Store Will Ruin Upper East Side

Julia Marsh | New York Post

An angry 88-year-old Upper East Side man is suing Apple to stop them from opening a store in his neighborhood, claiming it will draw undesirables “incompatible” with “community interests.”

Full story.

 

Snake Infestation Forced Home Buyers From House, $2M Suit Alleges

Debra Cassens Weiss | ABA Journal

Home buyers in Maryland claim in a $2 million lawsuit that they were forced to move out of their Annapolis home after spending nearly $60,000 in a fruitless effort to eradicate snakes that were nesting in the walls.

 Full story.

 

Lawyers Join the ‘Crowd’

Amanda Bronstad | The National Law Journal

Taking a cue from Kickstarter Inc. and Indiegogo Inc., lawyers and advocacy groups are using crowdfunding to get the public to bankroll social-justice litigation such as cases alleging police brutality.

Full story.

 

Supreme Court To Decide Whether To Hear Four High-Stakes Cases Asking When A Suit May Be Litigated As A Class Action

Tim Bishop and Chad Clamage | Mayer Brown’s Class Defense Blog

The Supreme Court will decide before the end of this Term whether to hear any or all of four important cases that raise recurring questions of class action law that have sharply divided the lower courts… whether a class full of uninjured members may be certified, and whether plaintiffs may rely on experts and statistics to gloss over individualized differences among class members in order to prove their class claims and damages. These questions strike at the heart of what it means to be a “class,” because class actions generally must be litigated using common evidence to show that each class member has been harmed.

Full story.

 

New Jersey Judge Orders Newspaper to “Remove a News Article.” The Paper’s Response is Awesome.

Xeni Jardin | Boing Boing

A Bergen County, New Jersey judge has ordered the local paper to “remove a news article” that relates to a child custody case, demanding that the paper take it out of public internet view for all eternity. The response to that order published in The Bergen Dispatch is pretty great.

Full story.

 

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