Author: Donald Scarinci

NJ Supreme Court Rules Casino’s Business Interruption Insurance Doesn’t Cover COVID-19 Losses

NJ Supreme Court Rules Casino’s Business Interruption Insurance Doesn’t Cover COVID-19 Losses

In AC Ocean Walk v. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance, (A-28-22/087304) (Decided January 24, 2024), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that the presence of the COVID-19 virus did not constitute the kind of “direct physical loss or damage” required to support a business-interruption insurance claim. Facts of AC

NJ Supreme Court Establishes New Test for Prosecution for Terroristic Threats

NJ Supreme Court Establishes New Test for Prosecution for Terroristic Threats

In State v. Calvin Fair (A-20-22/086617) (Decided January 16, 2024), the Supreme Court of New Jersey incorporated the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Counterman v. Colorado, 600 U.S. 66, 79 (2023) to hold that a mental state of recklessness is constitutionally sufficient for a “true threats” prosecution under N.J.S.A.

NJ Supreme Court Rules Refund Provision Does Not Extend to All CFA Violations

NJ Supreme Court Rules Refund Provision Does Not Extend to All CFA Violations

In DeSimone v. Springpoint Senior Living, Inc. (A-37-22/087891) (Decided January 10, 2024), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that the refund provision set forth in N.J.S.A. 56:8-2.11 does not provide relief for all Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) violations. Rather, it is limited solely to the food-related misrepresentations expressly proscribed

NJ Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Free Speech Case

NJ Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Free Speech Case

The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently heard oral arguments in Usachenok v. State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury. The case challenges a regulation that requests that state employees involved in discrimination investigations maintain its confidentiality. While the regulation was amended in 2020 to address free speech concerns,

NJ Supreme Court Rejects Expert's "Rule of Thumb" Assessment 

NJ Supreme Court Rejects Expert’s “Rule of Thumb” Assessment 

In State v. Roberson Burney (A-14-22/086966) (Decided August 2, 2023), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held it was cumulative error for the trial court to admit two pieces of evidence: expert testimony that defendant’s cell phone was likely near a crime scene based on a “rule of thumb” approximation

NJ Supreme Court to Decide Whether Municipal Email List Is Subject to OPRA

NJ Supreme Court to Decide Whether Municipal Email List Is Subject to OPRA

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a closely watched case involving the State’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The key question before the Court is whether email addresses submitted by members of the public to a public agency to sign up for electronic newsletters and notices

NJ Supreme Court Clarifies Custodial Interrogation

NJ Supreme Court Clarifies Custodial Interrogation

In State v. Amandeep K. Tiwana (A-36-22/087919) (Decided November 20, 2023), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that an investigating detective’s self-introduction to the defendant at her bedside in the hospital following a car crash did not constitute a custodial interrogation warranting the administration of warnings under Miranda v.

The NJ Supreme Court’s Most Significant Decisions of 2023

The NJ Supreme Court’s Most Significant Decisions of 2023

Unlike SCOTUS, the justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court often all agreed with one another this year, reaching August before issuing a single dissent. The Court’s most precedential decision was Facebook, Inc. v. State, in which the justices unanimously held that Facebook could not be compelled to provide the