Compensating victims is one of the reasons the court system exists. Unfortunately, there are people in this world that view victim-hood as a road to riches, and therefore are eager to scam the system into paying their way. Two of those such people are making a name for themselves in the aftermath of the recent apartment explosion in New York City.
Back in February we drew your attention to a lawsuit that had been filed by a woman claiming that a restaurant had refused service to her because she was dining alone on Valentine’s Day. This week it was reported that that lawsuit has been settled. What is striking about the news article reporting the settlement is not details of the settlement (which are confidential) but the comments made by the restaurant owners’ lawyer about the impact of the case on their business.
Can parties to a contract be compelled to arbitrate New [...]
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of March 28-April 2.
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of March 21-27.
The admissibility of expert testimony is a hot topic in the New Jersey legal world right now. A report from the court’s Committee on the Rules of Evidence has confirmed that the case law does not match the court rules on the books, and the New Jersey Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Townsend v. Pierre only increases the differences.
Right now there are five common sense legal reform bills with bipartisan sponsorship under consideration in the legislature. Several of these bills have been languishing in committee for years without action. Meanwhile, all of us are shouldering the burden of New Jersey’s excessively expensive and inefficient tort liability system through higher prices, lower wages, decreased returns on investments in capital and land, restricted access to health care, and less innovation. It is time for the legislature get serious about legal reform so the citizens and businesses of this state can get some relief.
The New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. Legal Services Group, L.P. v. Patricia Atalese is already wreaking havoc on the arbitration system in New Jersey, and has the potential to negatively impact the law in other states if the U.S. Supreme Court does not step in. That was the take-away from NJCJI’s March 20 teleforum featuring attorney Archis A. Parasharami of Mayer Brown, who is one of the nation’s leading experts on arbitration law.
The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) was enacted in 1960 to protect New Jersey citizens against deceptive business practices. When it was first passed, the state’s Attorney General served as the sole enforcer of the act. Though the Act was amended in 1971 to permit private enforcement, the Attorney General’s office, specifically the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, is still the public’s most important protector against scam artists and fraudsters.
Have you ever purchased Tylenol? If so, you are a potential member of a ridiculous class action lawsuit that has been filed against Johnson & Johnson.
