New Jersey

Lawyer Problems for Ex-Mayor

A court hearing today may determine whether Newark’s former mayor will keep either of two attorneys originally hired to defend him on corruption charges. One lawyer says former mayor Sharpe James doesn’t have enough money to pay his fees, and another lawyer has been accused of a conflict of interest,…

Aug 22, 2007 3:10 PM CDT

Judge Sued Over Maserati Incident

A lawsuit claims a New Jersey judge should be tossed from the bench because of his actions against a man he accused of scratching his Maserati. The suit, filed in federal court in Newark, claims Judge George R. Korpita of Rockaway Borough abused the legal process and violated the civil…

Aug 22, 2007 12:17 PM CDT

Proposed Laws Target Abusive Bosses

Nobody wants to work for a jerk. But unless abusive bosses violate specific prohibitions, such as discriminating against someone because of race or gender, treating employees badly generally isn’t illegal. That could be changing, however. At least four states are considering legislation that would give workers a right to sue…

Aug 21, 2007 4:37 PM CDT

Setbacks in Lead Paint Suits

Lead paint litigation looked promising when a Rhode Island jury last year found paint companies liable for creating a public nuisance. Since then, a series of rulings shielding paint manufacturers have changed that outlook, the National Law Journal reports. The Rhode Island action, brought by the state’s attorney general, was…

Aug 21, 2007 1:07 PM CDT

NJ Lawyer Hits Terror Funding

New Jersey lawyer Gary Osen is on a mission to fight terrorists by cutting off their bankroll. In one suit, he represents 55 plaintiffs who claim Arab Bank channeled money from Saudi Arabia to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, the New York Times reports in a profile. In another,…

Aug 17, 2007 1:45 PM CDT

Client’s Ignorance Tolls Legal Malpractice Deadline

A six-year statute of limitations isn’t stopping a disgruntled divorce client from suing her lawyer for malpractice almost 10 years after the initial alimony settlement. A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that the limitations period didn’t begin to run until the client learned from another lawyer that she might…

Aug 16, 2007 12:09 PM CDT

PI Law Firm, Lawyer Plead Guilty

A New Jersey lawyer and his former law firm have pleaded guilty to paying runners $70,000 to find people to submit false accident claims. The charges were the result of an undercover insurance fraud investigation spurred by complaints from Allstate and Prudential insurance companies. Irwin Seligsohn of Kinnelon, N.J., admitted…

Aug 9, 2007 12:41 PM CDT

States, Feds Ponder ‘Gender ID’ Bills

Gender identity isn’t a phrase that traditionally comes up in everyday conversation. But it’s a hot topic among lawmakers and lobbyists these days, as both Congress and a growing number of states consider legislation to make discrimination based on gender identity illegal. At this point, it isn’t completely clear what…

Aug 7, 2007 3:56 PM CDT

Dean Charged in Student Drinking Death

In what may be the first case of its kind, a dean of students and another Rider University administrator were among five people charged by a Mercer County, N.J., grand jury with aggravated hazing over the death of a student from alcohol poisoning. If convicted, Dean of Students Anthony Campbell…

Aug 6, 2007 4:56 PM CDT

Verdict Stands Despite Lawyer-Foreman

A New Jersey judge has found that a lawyer and state senator who served on a jury did not improperly influence his fellow jurors, despite what he said in an article about his experiences. Sen. Robert Martin wrote for the New Jersey Law Journal last December about serving as a…

Aug 2, 2007 12:34 PM CDT

Scary Parts of Ghostwriting

While hailed by many lawyers, the practice can come back to haunt them

Aug 1, 2007 9:24 AM CDT

Condemnation Thriving in N.J., N.Y.

Forty states have passed laws to curb eminent domain powers since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2005 that cities may seize land for private economic development. But strong protection bills have failed to pass in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, the New York Times reports. “New Jersey…

Jul 30, 2007 4:52 PM CDT

Curbs on Condo Signs Upheld

Legal observers were taken aback last year when a New Jersey appellate court extended the state constitution’s free-speech requirements to a private homeowners’ association. Frank Askin, a law professor at Rutgers-Newark, told the ABA Journal eReport in February 2006 that the decision was the first of its kind at the…

Jul 27, 2007 4:43 PM CDT

NJ Firm Bows Head re Unadmitted Atty

In a rare sanction of a law firm that names no individual partner names, the New Jersey Supreme Court has reprimanded Newark-based Sills Cummis Epstein & Gross for allowing an associate not admitted to the state bar to work on transactional matters for seven years. There are conflicting accounts of…

Jul 27, 2007 12:03 AM CDT

Mich. Judge’s Warnings Unheeded

A Michigan judge says he tried to warn Virginia lawmakers about the dangers of high fines for motorist misdeeds, to no avail. Judge William Buhl of Van Buren County told the Washington Post he e-mailed all 140 legislators in Virginia opining that a similar Michigan program begun in 2003 was…

Jul 24, 2007 4:27 PM CDT