Category Archives: News

In a January 7, 2021 Order, Chief Justice Rabner of New Jersey’s Supreme Court made clear that civil jury trials will be proceeding virtually in New Jersey in the immediate future. The courts will resume jury trials through a two-phase process. The first phase, beginning on February 1, 2021, will only allow jury trials in eight counties throughout New Jersey: Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem, Monmouth, Passaic, and Union. During this first phase, consent of the parties to participate in a remote jury trial will be required.

Joel R. Clark will be presenting at the Harris Maratin Webinar Seminar, “New Jersey Asbestos Litigation”. This Webinar Series will be a special virtual event taking place on Thursday, February 11th 2021 and registration can be accessed in the attached link.

In a precedential decision, New Jersey’s Appellate Division upheld the common law test for applying the doctrine of “res ipsa loquitur” in a negligence action. In Pannucci v. Edgewood Park Senior Housing – Phase 1, LLC, A-4735-17T3 (App. Div. Nov. 30, 2020), the Appellate Division was asked to reverse a trial court’s dismissal of a personal injury lawsuit, arising from the plaintiff’s claim that she had been injured while boarding an elevator in her own apartment building.

On November 19, 2020, New Jersey’s Appellate Division issued a precedential decision in the matter of Crisitello v. St. Theresa School, Docket No. A-4713-18T3 (App. Div. 2020). The case arose from the school, a private, primary school operated by a Roman Catholic parish church, terminating a lay employee (non-clergy) teacher.

Just over a year ago, MKCI analyzed a decision of the New Jersey Appellate Division in the matter of Narleski v. Gomes. In that case, the court considered whether an “underage” adult – someone over the age of eighteen, but under the legal drinking age of twenty-one – owed a duty as a social host to prevent underage guests in their homes from becoming intoxicated, and subsequently operating their motor vehicle.

Missing the deadline to file an appeal has potentially disastrous consequences, namely, the dismissal of the appeal and the possibility of a malpractice action. In Georges, et al. v. OB-GYN Services, P.C., et al., the Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed the Appellate Court’s decision to dismiss an untimely appeal after declining to suspend the rules of practice governing the filing of appeals.

On behalf of the McGivney, Kluger, Clark & Intoccia, Diversity & Inclusion Committee, we thank Your Honor for taking the time to consider our request to include a diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias continuing legal education (CLE) as part of the mandatory continuing legal education requirement for New Jersey attorneys. Our committee has reviewed the NJSBA’s proposal to require two credit hours of CLE on this subject and wholeheartedly support same.

New Jersey’s Tort Claims Act requires that any person who seeks to file a lawsuit against a public entity for tortious injury or damage to persons or property must put the responsible public entity on notice of that intention within ninety (90) days of the claim’s accrual. N.J.S.A. § 59:8-8. In “extraordinary circumstances,” claimants may seek leave of court to file a late notice within one year of the claim’s accrual.

In a case of first impression, the Connecticut Supreme Court in Lafferty, et al. v. Jones, et al. held that the imposition of sanctions based on certain comments made about the case by a defendant did not violate his first amendment right to free speech under the United States constitution.

In January of 2020, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in two consolidated cases to address the limits of specific personal jurisdiction. See Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial Dist. Ct., Case No. 19-368; see also Ford Motor Co. v. Bandemer, Case No. 19-369.