New Jersey

NJ’s Top Court Sides with 10-Foot Inflatable Rodent, Strikes Sign Ordinance

Ruling yesterday on free-speech grounds, the New Jersey Supreme Court said a municipal ordinance banning a labor union from displaying a 10-foot-tall inflatable rat at protest sites was a violation of its First Amendment rights. A divided appeals court had previously sided with Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, after the…

Feb 6, 2009 9:19 PM CST

NJ Lawyer’s Penis Enlargement Product Lawsuit is Revived on Appeal

Unhappy with the mail-order penis enlargement product he bought in 2007, a New Jersey attorney was also unhappy with the initial result of the class-action consumer fraud litigation he brought over the purchase. But an appeal of the trial court’s dismissal of the case may have a more satisfying outcome…

Feb 4, 2009 7:09 PM CST

Did Lowenstein Role in 14-Lawyer Leap Unfairly Ruin Former Firm? Trial Nears

More than nine years after 14 lawyers leaped from a well-known New Jersey partnership to Lowenstein Sandler, a trial is nearing over claims that the 260-attorney firm went too far in soliciting the swift departure that soon destroyed the defectors’ former firm Although Lowenstein denies that it did anything wrong,…

Feb 3, 2009 9:59 PM CST

Disbarred N.J. Lawyer Admits Gambling Away $4M in Trust Money

A disbarred New Jersey lawyer has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $4 million from trust funds for gambling trips to Atlantic City. The state is recommending a 15-year sentence for Michael Rumore when he is sentenced on April 17, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. Rumore pleaded guilty to…

Jan 7, 2009 5:47 PM CST

Top NJ Court Voids ‘Super Lawyer’ Advertising Ban

An opinion by the Advisory Committee on Attorney Advertising banning New Jersey lawyers from participating in publications touting them as “Super Lawyers” and “Best Lawyers in America” has been voided by the state’s top court as unconstitutional. In a unanimous per curiam decision today (PDF), the New Jersey Supreme Court…

Dec 17, 2008 10:11 PM CST

Over 2,200 Defendants Seek Hearings in Camden, N.J., Program; Officials Stunned

Criminally charged in 1995, after a police officer allegedly found marijuana in her car, Renee Felton didn’t show up for her court date and spent more than a decade dodging a subsequent warrant for her arrest. Now 48, she decided to come into court voluntarily after her niece saw a…

Nov 24, 2008 5:36 PM CST

PD’s ‘Display of Personal Pique’ Didn’t Warrant Sanction, Court Rules

A public defender who told a judge he thought his bail ruling was “outrageous” didn’t deserve a criminal contempt finding and $100 sanction, a New Jersey appeals court has ruled. Anderson Harkov had complained when a Hunterdon County judge set bail at $20,000 for a client charged with forgery who…

Nov 24, 2008 4:14 PM CST

Former SG Helps eHarmony Reach Settlement Calling for Gay Matches

The online dating service eHarmony will launch an online matchmaking option for gays called Compatible Partners as a result of a settlement with the New Jersey Attorney General. Former solicitor general Ted Olson, now a partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, represented eHarmony, according to a press release. The agreement…

Nov 19, 2008 5:24 PM CST

Ex-Lawyer Who Lost Gambling Addiction Suit Arraigned on Escrow Theft Charges

A disbarred New York lawyer and TV commentator who lost her gambling addiction lawsuit has been arraigned on charges that she looted the escrow accounts of several clients, failing to return $100,000 she was holding for them. Arelia Taveras faces up to seven years in prison if she is convicted,…

Nov 14, 2008 12:36 PM CST

Go-Go Bar Ruckus Led to Judge’s Resignation, Supervisor Testifies

News that a New Jersey municipal judge had allegedly caused a ruckus in a go-go bar was the last straw that led to his resignation, his former assignment judge testified at a disciplinary hearing today. N.J. Superior Court Judge Judge Yolanda Ciccone testified that she told Richard Sasso he had…

Nov 12, 2008 7:46 PM CST

Losing Party Sues Law Firm for Discussing Job Offer with Judge

A losing party in a business dispute is suing its opponent’s law firm for offering a job to a New Jersey judge before he had distributed his final ruling in the case. The suit names as defendants the law firm Herten, Burstein, Sheridan, Cevasco, Bottinelli, Litt & Harz, with offices…

Nov 12, 2008 3:02 PM CST

Too-Cozy Home Situation Helps Defeat N.J. Palimony Claim

Cohabitation isn’t an absolute requirement for palimony. But a promise of lifetime support is. So a living arrangement that puts the romantic couple in the same home as the man’s elderly—and wealthy—wife isn’t a positive fact for the party seeking palimony, according to a New Jersey appeals court written opinion…

Oct 28, 2008 7:20 PM CDT

E-Mail Goof Creates Buzz Over Judge, Prosecutor Jobs

Authorities in New Jersey’s Washington Township apologized to a local municipal judge and prosecutor Tuesday after an e-mail blast posted their jobs to lawyers throughout the county. The gaffe caused a stir a couple weeks ago when the Morris County Bar Association sent out an e-mail asking interested applicants to…

Oct 22, 2008 10:23 PM CDT

Deaf Patient to Get Record $400K from N.J. Doc Who Didn’t Provide Interpreter

Not providing the sign language interpreter requested by a deaf patient has cost a New Jersey doctor a $400,000 jury award. And it may cost Jersey City rheumatologist Robert Fogari personally, since his malpractice carrier has denied coverage, as well as a defense, reports the New Jersey Law Journal. The…

Oct 17, 2008 9:15 PM CDT

3 Fed’l Grand Juries Probe Lehman Bros.

Three grand jury investigations have been launched against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., in the wake of the investment bank’s bankruptcy last month. The probes, launched “by New York U.S. attorneys in Brooklyn and Manhattan as well as in Newark, New Jersey. They are focusing in part on Lehman’s role in…

Oct 17, 2008 5:51 PM CDT