Second Annual Legal Reform 101 Event Draws a Crowd
On May 18 a group of legislators, staffers, lobbyists, and even a couple of trial attorneys gathered in the State House for NJCJI’s Legal Reform 101 training.
State Bar Meeting Provides Overview of New Jersey’s Legal Landscape
Last week the New Jersey State Bar Association held its annual convention in Atlantic City. Over 2,500 judges, lawyers, law clerks and law students headed down the shore in search of CLEs and the scoop on emerging legal issues. In the following post, NJCJI’s Emily Kelchen reveals her insights on issues of interest to the civil justice community that were discussed at the convention.
Top News Clips for the Week of May 9-15
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of May 9-15.
More Study Needed on Link Between Liability, Defensive Medicine, and Rising Healthcare Costs
This spring, a number of studies and surveys have drawn attention to an emerging problem in the healthcare industry - care that is dictated not by medical necessity, but by fear of litigation, in short, defensive medicine. As we all know, correlation is not causation, so more rigorous analysis is needed, but emerging evidence suggests that the main driver of the surge in unnecessary care is fear of litigation.
Data Shows New Jersey is Second to Only New York When it Comes to Medical Liability Costs
In 2014, doctors and insurers in the United States paid out over $3.89 billion dollars in medical malpractice cases, an increase of 4.4% over the previous year, and a continuation of the trend toward additional payouts after nearly a decade of decline. A closer look at the data reveals that the problem may not be rooted in quality of care, but in law and culture.
Case Highlights Need for Interlocutory Appeal of Class Certification Decisions
We have been arguing for years that defendants need a mechanism for challenging class actions before the monetary pressure of the discovery phase forces them to settle cases of little or no merit, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. However, not all hope is lost. As Law360 reports, “A New Jersey appeals court Friday refused to revive class claims against automotive insurers… finding nothing wrong with a judge's decision to strike the class allegations before discovery.” The case is a good example of why New Jersey’s current law governing the right to appeal class certification decisions is flawed.
Case Could Have Big Impact on Insurance Industry
Last Monday we held a policy teleforum on DeMarco v. Stoddard, a medical malpractice case that has the potential to upend New Jersey's malpractice insurance market. During the call, Shalom D. Stone of Brown Moskowitz & Kallen, the author of NJCJI's amicus brief in the case, provided an overview of the issues in the case and analysis of the New Jersey Supreme Court’s oral arguments, which were held on April 27.
Court’s Decision Could Upend State’s Malpractice Insurance Market
On Monday, April 27, the New Jersey Supreme Court is holding oral arguments in an interesting medical malpractice case, DeMarco v. Stoddard. The court’s ruling in this case has the potential to upend New Jersey’s medical malpractice insurance market.
Court to Hear Oral Arguments in Medical Malpractice Insurance Case
On Monday, April 27, the New Jersey Supreme Court is holding oral arguments in an interesting medical malpractice case. The court’s ruling in this case will signal how serious the state is about stamping out fraud and corruption, and has the potential to dramatically impact malpractice insurance premiums.
Not Everything Is a Consumer Fraud Act Violation
One of our complaints about New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act is that it is overly broad - encompassing many disputes that could resolved more efficiently by other means. So, it was nice to see a recent Appellate Division reverse a trial court CFA summary judgment for the plaintiff in the case of the house that is sliding down a hill.