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Cumulative Trial Errors Merit New Trial to Defendants for $4.5 Million Jury Award in Automobile Accident Case
Plaintiff Sophia Torres (“Torres”) suffered injuries as a result of a motor vehicle accident with the garbage truck being driven by Defendant Javier Pabon (“Pabon”) for his employer, Defendant Suburban Disposal (“Suburban”). Torres was seriously injured in a rear-end collision between her car and the Suburban truck. She claims that, due to the negligent maintenance […]
Attorney Sanctioned for Shoddy Appellate Brief
Our New Jersey appellate court rules extensively detail the requirements for the form and content of an appellate brief. If the brief is nonconforming as to format, the Appellate Division clerk will not hesitate to require the format be revised to conform with our court rules and insist that the brief be resubmitted after it […]
Defendants Not Responsible for Damage to Neighbors’ Retaining Wall Caused by Roots of Tree They Did Not Plant
Plaintiff Edward Scannavino claimed that defendants Marie and Everett Walsh allowed the roots of trees on their property to damage a retaining wall between their properties. The trial court found that because the defendants did not plant or preserve the trees, they were a natural condition for which defendants were not liable and dismissed the […]
Appellate Division Reverse $2 Million Verdict Due to Multiple Evidential Trial Rulings
In the recent published decision of Berkowitz v. Soper, 2016 N.J. Super. LEXIS 13 (App. Div. 2016), the Appellate Division reversed a $2 million jury verdict due to multiple errors made by the trial judge. This case involved a rear end collision between the plaintiff Joseph Berkowitz and Susan Soper. The plaintiff alleged back pain […]
Business Owner Found Not Liable for Failure to Have Functioning Surveillance Camera to Protect Patron from Theft
The plaintiff Sharon Glenn went to the UPS store to discuss shipping a large package. She claims to have placed her purse and an envelope with $600 in cash on the counter. After receiving a quote to ship the package from the UPS clerk, she picked up her purse but accidentally left the envelope on […]
Court May Approve Sale of a Structured Settlement if in the Best Interest of the Payee
The court in In re T. Keena, Transfer of Structured Settlement Proceeds, 2015 N.J. Super. LEXIS 163 (Law Div. June 18, 2015), was asked to approve the sale of a structured settlement to Peachtree Settlement Funding. The transaction provided for a sale of a future payment in the amount of $66,175 on June 19, 2109 […]
Employer May Sue for Disgorgement of Employee’s Compensation Due to Breach of Duty of Loyalty Despite Lack of Economic Loss
A dispute arose between plaintiff Bruce Kaye and defendant Alan Rosefielde, an attorney Kaye initially retained as outside counsel and later employed directly. For 2 years, Rosefielde served as COO of some of Kaye’s timeshare businesses and as to those entities General Counsel. During this time period, Rosefielde committed serious misconduct by acting on his […]
Based Upon Indemnification Agreement Between Defendant Contractor and Employer, Jury Should Have Been Allowed to Allocate Negligence Against Employer
The exclusive remedy provision of the Workers Compensation Act, N.J.S.A. 34:15-8, bars the employee from suing his or her employee for a workplace bodily injury based upon negligence. However, this provision does not preclude an employer from agreeing to contractually indemnify a third party for its negligence. Under those circumstances, an employer could be liable […]
Subpoena Rule Change Simplifies Process to Issue NJ Subpoena for Out-of-State Case
It is not well known, but New Jersey changed its rules of civil procedure, as of September 1, 2014, making it easier for out-of-state attorneys to serve subpoenas in New Jersey for an out-of-state case without having to retain NJ counsel. Previously, an out-of-state attorney would have to retain a NJ attorney, have them file […]
Kmart Entitled to Indemnification from Landlord from Injury Due to Fall on Common Sidewalk
The defendant Kmart was a tenant of a 150,000 square foot building in which Belmont Associates was the landlord. The lease contained clauses regarding the parties’ responsibilities in maintaining the sidewalk area adjacent to the building and maintaining insurance. In Senatore v. Kmart Inc., 2015 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2210 (App. Div. Sept. 21, 2015, […]
Betsy G. Ramos
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