A selection of the need-to-know civil justice news for the week of May 17-23.

Rabner Deal Averts Crisis, But Concerns Linger

Mary Pat Gallagher | New Jersey Law Journal

Wednesday’s announcement of a deal that will keep Chief Justice Stuart Rabner on the New Jersey Supreme Court was hailed as an historic compromise by the New Jersey legal community, who greeted the news with relief and the sense of a crisis averted.

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Judge in BP Spill Case Sends Distress Signal to Supreme Court 

Paul M. Barrett | Bloomberg Businessweek

Judge Edith Brown Clement is waving her arms, jumping up and down—heck, doing everything but setting her office furniture on fire—to draw the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court to the zany goings on in New Orleans concerning BP and its oil spill liability.

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No Private Cause of Action Under N.J. Civil Rights Act

Charles Toutant | New Jersey Law Journal

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the New Jersey Civil Rights Act offers no private cause of action against individuals except for those who are acting under color of law. The court reversed an Appellate Division ruling permitting two individuals to bring claims against a tavern owner under the act.

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Assembly Bill List Paints a Picture of Would-Be Supreme Court Justice Solomon

PolitickerNJ

Solomon, who was appointed to the General Assembly in February 1991 to fill an unexpired term and who was elected to full terms in 1991 and 1993, was a state lawmaker who took up the cause of law and order, introducing dozens of bills that took a hard line against criminals or sought to protect the victims they preyed upon.

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Target Heart Attack Case Could Unleash Wave Of Litigation

Jonathan Randles | Law360

Plaintiffs attorneys may unleash a flurry of lawsuits against California retailers that don’t carry emergency medical equipment if the state Supreme Court rules in a case against Target Corp. that businesses have an obligation to keep defibrillators in stores, experts say.

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Exxon Not Liable for Alligators in Mississippi Dump, Court Rules

Joe Carroll and Jim Polson | Insurance Journal

Exxon Mobil Corp. isn’t responsible for alligators overrunning a rural dump site it owns in Mississippi, the state supreme court ruled, because the global oil explorer can’t control wild animals.

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Christie to Nominate Chief Justice Rabner for Tenure on NJ Supreme Court

Matt Friedman and Salvador Rizzo | The Star-Ledger

Gov. Chris Christie today will re-nominate Stuart Rabner as chief justice of the state Supreme Court, The Star-Ledger has learned. The development is a breakthrough in negotiations between Christie and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who had been locked in a battle over New Jersey’s highest court for years, and a victory for Sweeney.

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