Earlier today, Gov. Christie used his veto pen to strike down S374/A3403, which would have awarded more money to workers’ compensation attorneys at the expense of their injured clients. Gov. Christie should be applauded for stopping this bad bill from becoming a law.
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of January 2-8.
Since New Jersey is a state where a lot of asbestos-related work was done, the citizens and businesses of our state have a keen interest in ensuring that the system that has been set up to compensate asbestos victims is not undermined by fraud and abuse. To that end, the New Jersey Civil Justice Institute is supporting Congressional efforts to rein in fraud in the existing system via H.R. 526, the Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency (FACT) Act of 2015.
A lot of ridiculous lawsuits were filed in New Jersey this year, but only one can be crowned 2015’s Most Ludicrous Lawsuit. This year, the esteemed honor goes to the man who tried to sue Applebee’s because his fajitas were too hot to pray over.
On December 21, the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee held a hearing on S3162, which would protect authorized medical marijuana patients from adverse employment actions. NJCJI testified in opposition to this legislation.
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of December 12-18.
Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court issued a legal smackdown to courts in California that were asserting that state arbitration law took precedence over federal case law. The 6-3 ruling is not a sweeping change that is going to impact all arbitration agreement everywhere, but a reminder that the Supremacy Clause exists for a reason.
On Thursday, December 17, the New Jersey Senate voted 22-17 to pass S785, which would require businesses in the state to offer their employees paid sick leave. NJCJI opposed this legislation because the highly prescriptive structure of the bill, compounded by the incentivized litigation enforcement mechanism, will deprive employers of the necessary flexibility to manage their business and respond to suspected abuse if it is enacted.
On Thursday, December 17, the New Jersey Assembly passed A3403, which would award more money to workers compensation attorneys at the expense of their injured clients. NJCJI voiced strong opposition to this legislation, which will now head to Gov. Christie’s desk.
