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. We frequently oppose bills that would add to the already cumbersome Act, so it surprised many when came out in support of a recent bill expanding the CFA.
On October 27, Governor Christie signed into law A617, which would “Prohibit sending unsolicited advertising by text messaging, and requires companies offering text messaging services to allow customers to block all incoming and outgoing text messages.” This legislation, which Christie had previously conditionally vetoed after listening to NJCJI’s concerns, contains language that prevents this new regulation from becoming a breeding ground for litigation.
New Jersey has a lot of things going for it. If you check out Choose New Jersey’s promotional materials touting our strengths you will see that we are “highly educated, perfectly located.” Unfortunately, those are not the only characteristics a state needs in order to see its economy thrive.
When most people think consumer fraud protection they imagine government agents going out into the field to inspect businesses, write tickets, and shut down bad-actors. As reports from the state Attorney General’s office can attest, these things do happen, but they are just one part of the state’s enforcement mechanism. A wide variety of regulations are also enforced via lawsuits brought by private attorneys effectively deputized as government enforcement agents.
Sen. Robert Singer (R-Lakewood) has introduced a bill that would allow plaintiffs suffering from mesothelioma and their family members to file personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits at any time after the disease is diagnosed. If this bill is passed, it would make New Jersey a magnet for asbestos litigation.
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.
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of June 27-July 2.
There were two items on the Senate’s agenda on Monday that we were keeping a close eye on - paid sick leave and credit checks on employees/potential employees. The paid sick leave bill was ultimately pulled from the calendar, but the credit check bill passed 22-16.
A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of June 20-26.
Like so many other bills in the employment law context that have been considered recently, S524 and S1130, are a liability boondoggle disguised as a regulatory mandate. On their face, the bills simply prohibit employers from conducting credit history checks on employees and job applicants. But under the surface, this legislation dramatically increases the liability risk businesses in New Jersey must face since it would encourage employees and job applicants to take non-compliant employers to court. As we have repeatedly said, increasing liability risk is bad for New Jersey’s economy.
