Asbestos litigation has been described by one prominent plaintiffs’ lawyer as an “endless search for a solvent bystander.” Nowhere is this truer than in New Jersey, where we have experienced three waves of asbestos litigation.
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of July 11-17.
New Jersey’s rules regarding the admissibility and review of expert testimony have remained unchanged since 1991. In this same period, the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Uniform Rules of Evidence, numerous state evidence rules, and our own jurisprudence have all changed to reflect the increased importance and use of expert testimony. The disconnect between the rules on the books and the realities of practice were on full display at the New Jersey Supreme Court’s May 19, 2015 hearing on the Committee on the Rules of Evidence’s latest report.
This New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in the whistleblower case Lippman v. Ethicon raises serious concerns for some employers. NJCJI President Marcus Rayner explained in several news articles how framing internal, debate-based decision-making as whistleblowing that is actionable under CEPA changes the workplace dynamic.
On July 15, the New Jersey Supreme Court released its opinion in the closely-watched employment law case Lippman v. Ethicon. The issue in the case was whether an employee performing activities as part of his or her core job functions, on that basis alone and without further conduct by the employee, can seek whistleblower protection under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA) if they are fired?
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of July 4-10.
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Did you know New Jersey is one of only eleven states where the court system is required to give tobacco companies a benefit that other defendants are denied? It’s true. As part of the Master Settlement Agreement reached in 1998, New Jersey agreed to put a cap on the amount of money tobacco companies must post as bond in order to appeal adverse verdicts in exchange for money and other concessions from the 5 tobacco companies involved in the litigation. To this day, tobacco companies are the only defendants in New Jersey that get the benefit of an appeal bond cap.
Law360’s Martin Bricketto has put together a list of the top 7 most influential court decisions thus far decided in 2015 in New Jersey. Included in the list is the Appellate Division’s opinion in Daniels v. Hollister, which NJCJI’s Alida Kass weighs in on.
Check out this Letter to the Editor on paid sick leave NJCJI’s President, Marcus Rayner, wrote to the Star-Ledger.
