New Jersey

Suspended judge indicted over fugitive found at her home in 2013

A suspended New Jersey superior court judge has been indicted over a man arrested in 2013 at her home in Woodbridge. Judge Carlia Brady is accused of hindering the apprehension of the man, Jason Prontnicki, who was wanted in connection with a pharmacy armed robbery case and described as her…

May 14, 2015 11:50 AM CDT

Judge says Facebook has right to sue DLA Piper and other firms for representing now-fugitive Ceglia

Facebook Inc. and founder Mark Zuckerberg can pursue civil litigation against DLA Piper and other law firms that represented Paul Ceglia in a fraudulent claim of ownership of the social media site, a New York state court judge ruled Monday. Milberg and Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman also are named as…

May 12, 2015 4:20 PM CDT

TSA returns $100K watch forgotten by traveler, after investigating ownership claim

Travelers so frequently forget items at airport security checkpoints that the federal Transportation Security Administration has a routine procedure for logging and holding lost property. However, a watch left at Newark Liberty International Airport on Tuesday apparently required some extra effort. Covered in gold and diamonds, the Cartier timepiece is…

May 8, 2015 7:30 AM CDT

Judge’s unusual paternity case ruling: Dad fathered one twin, but not the other

There was good news and bad news when DNA test results arrived for a man who contested paternity of twin girls a New Jersey woman said he had fathered. He was the father of one of the girls, but not the other. In what is said to be the first…

May 8, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Ex-aide takes plea, 2 more allies of NJ gov face charges in ‘Bridgegate’ traffic-jam case

A former aide tof New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took a plea Friday and two more individuals were federally indicted in the so-called Bridgegate case over a claimed scheme to create traffic jams to punish a Democratic mayor of Fort Lee who didn’t endorse the Republican’s re-election. The ex-aide, David…

May 4, 2015 4:20 PM CDT

Employee plans harassment suit against retired county prosecutor, seeks ‘breast of the day’ emails

The retirement of a New Jersey county prosecutor is being roiled by accusations of sexual harassment. An unidentified employee of the Mercer County prosecutor’s office has formally notified the county, through her lawyer, Robin Lord, that she intends to file suit and asked that evidence including claimed “breast of the…

May 1, 2015 1:19 PM CDT

Jury convicts rabbi, acquits son in kidnapping-conspiracy case related to religious divorces

Defense counsel said the facts of the situation had been exaggerated. But a federal jury on Tuesday convicted Rabbi Mendel Epstein, as well as two other rabbis, of kidnapping conspiracy related to the religious divorces they helped clients get from reluctant husbands. The two other rabbis, Binyamin Stimler and Jay…

Apr 22, 2015 8:50 AM CDT

Man worried about transportation to court is charged with stealing a friend’s car

A New Jersey man was accused of stealing his friend’s car last Friday, a day after expressing concern about how he would find transportation to a court appearance. Police say they arrested Jorge Ramirez-Sierra of Riverdale, New Jersey, when he returned the car to his friend’s home, report NJ.com and…

Apr 17, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Municipal judge who resigned after bounced bar-dues checks is now accused of client extortion

A municipal judge in Trenton, New Jersey, who resigned after she tried to pay bar dues with bounced checks is now accused of extorting fake fines from immigration clients. Renee Lamarre-Sumners is accused of getting three clients to pay more than $17,000 in phony fines and keeping the money for…

Apr 15, 2015 8:58 AM CDT

Lawyer who read medical document from anonymous sender can’t represent med-mal plaintiff, court says

A lawyer can’t continue to represent a medical malpractice plaintiff after reading hospital documents sent by an anonymous source, a New Jersey appeals court has ruled. The Somerville, New Jersey, lawyer, Brian Levine, had contended the documents weren’t privileged under the New Jersey Patient Safety Act, the New Jersey Law…

Apr 9, 2015 10:26 AM CDT

Men-only golf retreats and unequal work assignments alleged in bias suit against McElroy Deutsch

A fired associate at McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter claims in a gender bias and sex harassment suit against the law firm that male associates got to hobnob with firm leaders at male-only golf retreats and got better work assignments than females. Fired bankruptcy associate Elina Chechelnitsky filed the suit…

Apr 6, 2015 8:48 AM CDT

Is time on homeowners’ side? Foreclosure case tossed without prejudice may not pause clock

Lawyers for homeowners in several states are arguing banks can’t foreclose on their clients’ homes because the statute of limitations has expired. An issue in the cases is when the clock begins to run and whether a tossed foreclosure case pauses the clock, the New York Times reports. Lawyers for…

Mar 30, 2015 7:21 AM CDT

Lawyer gets 10-year sentence for role in stealing $3.8M from elderly victims

A New Jersey lawyer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for her part in a scheme to steal $3.8 million from 16 elderly victims. Barbara Lieberman, a court-appointed guardian and elder law specialist in Atlantic County who gave seminars to senior citizens on end-of-life issues and other matters,…

Mar 27, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

Private texts transferred to workers’ corporate iPads led to wrongful firing, suit claims

Two former employees of Anheuser-Busch claim in a lawsuit that they were wrongly fired for private text messages transferred to a corporate-issued iPad through the iMessaging application. The suit by former New Jersey employees Victor Nascimento and Audry Yule says their employer discovered texts criticizing fellow employee Alex Davis when…

Mar 24, 2015 6:55 AM CDT

After criminal case was dropped, ex-cop can sue to recoup his $1M defense costs, judge rules

A former New Jersey police officer charged with shaking down drug dealers prevailed at trial, twice, when juries could not agree to convict him. Then the government decided to drop the case against Lawrence Furlow. Now he is litigating against the city of Newark, his ex-employer, in an effort to…

Mar 5, 2015 4:15 PM CST