Legal Research

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STATE DECISIONS:

State v. Reeds
CRIMINAL PRACTICE - Expert Testimony - Hypothetical Question - Constructive Possession
"Expert testimony about constructive possession of drugs found in a vehicle exceeded the parameters of acceptable hypothetical question testimony."

Mazzacano v. The Estate of Kinnerman et al.
TORTS - Dram Shop Act - Negligence
"A licensed alcoholic beverage server has no duty under the Dram Shop Act to monitor consumption in cases involving the self-service of alcoholic beverages."

Orthopaedic Associates v. Department of Banking and Insurance et al.
INSURANCE LAW - AICRA's Dispute Resolution Process - Medical Review Organizations - Personal Injury Protection Benefits
"The medical review organization (MRO) process under AICRA?s dispute resolution process is not inherently unfair because the impartiality of an MRO physician can be challenged in the Law Division."

McKesson Corp. v. Hackensack Medical Imaging
CIVIL PRACTICE - Jurisdiction - Full Faith and Credit
"Defendant has sufficient minimum contacts to justify the exercise of personal jurisdiction by the Texas court and its default judgment is enforceable in New Jersey."

612 Associates, L.L.C. v. North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority et al.
GOVERNMENT - Utilities - Effluent - Housing Development - Sewerage Connection Fee
"Even though its connection is only indirect, the entity that treats the effluent is entitled to collect from a new user a non-duplicative connection fee representing a fair contribution for the past capital costs of its treatment facility."

New Jersey Sports Productions Inc. v. Bobby Bostick Promotions, L.L.C., et al.
CONTRACTS - Absolute Privilege - Prelitigation Letters - Tortious Interference
"The absolute privilege that extends to statements made during litigation is extended to plaintiff's attorney's prelitigation letter to defendants."

Celanese, Ltd. v. Essex County Improvement Authority
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW - Cleanup Costs - Indemnification - Contract - Ambiguous Clauses - Summary Judgment
"Where plaintiff sought indemnification under its contract with defendant, relating to contaminated real property subject to cleanup costs, and certain clauses within the contract were found to be ambiguous, summary judgment was inappropriate."

FEDERAL DECISIONS:

John M. Floyd & Associates Inc. v. Ocean City Home Bank
CIVIL PRACTICE - Bills of Costs
"Plaintiff waived his right to costs pursuant to Local Civil Rule 54.1 by failing to timely electronically file a bill of costs and not using the available alternatives."

Waddington, Superintendent, Washington Corrections Center v. Sarausad
CRIMINAL PRACTICE - HABEAS CORPUS
"Because the state courts' conclusion that a jury instruction was unambiguous was not objectively unreasonable, the state-court decision did not result in an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law and the circuit court of appeals erred in granting habeas relief."

Spears v. United States
CRIMINAL PRACTICE - SENTENCING
"Under Kimbrough v. United States, district courts are entitled to reject and vary categorically from the crack-cocaine sentencing guidelines based on a policy disagreement with those guidelines."

Pearson et al. v. Callahan
CIVIL RIGHTS - SECTION 1983 - IMMUNITY
"The two-step sequence set forth in Saucier v. Katz for courts to resolve government officials' qualified-immunity claims - deciding first whether the facts alleged or shown make out a violation of a constitutional right and then whether that right was "clearly established" at the time of the defendant's alleged misconduct - is no longer mandatory in all cases."

Locke et al. v. Karass, State Controller, et al.
LABOR LAW - Collective Bargaining
"First Amendment permits a union local to charge nonmembers for national litigation expenses that are appropriately related to collective bargaining and that are reciprocal in nature."

U.S. v. Gilmore
CRIMINAL PRACTICE - Trial - Testimony - Past Criminal Conduct - Impeachment
"Trial counsel properly used past criminal conduct to impeach a witness' testimony by contradiction."

Fitzgerald et vir. v. Barnstable School Committee et al.
CIVIL RIGHTS - SECTION 1983
"Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 does not preclude a § 1983 action alleging unconstitutional gender discrimination in schools."

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