Category: Uncategorized

NJ Appeals Court Addresses Loss of Pre-existing Nonconforming Structures

NJ Appeals Court: Affidavit of Merit Not Required for Malicious Use of Process Claim

In a recent decision, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court held that the plaintiff was not required to provide an affidavit of merit in order to sustain a malicious use of process action because it is an intentional tort requiring proof of malice and not a deviation

Proposed Fire District Consolidation Legislation Advances

Proposed Fire District Consolidation Legislation Advances

The New Jersey Senate recently advanced legislation that would make it easier to consolidate fire districts. The Assembly approved the measure this summer. Under Assembly Bill No. 3006, New Jersey municipalities would be authorized to consolidate fire districts if the commissioners of each of the fire districts within each municipality

NJ Supreme Court to Address OPRA’s Applicability to Security Camera Footage

NJ Supreme Court to Address OPRA’s Applicability to Security Camera Footage

The Supreme Court of New Jersey has agreed to consider how to apply the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) to security camera footage. The case, Patricia Gilleran v. Township of Bloomfield, specifically involves whether a municipality must publicly disclose security video footage captured by a stationary camera in a

First responders

NJ Supreme Court Rules Police Officers Entitled to Qualified Immunity from Civil Rights Claims

In Morillo v. Monmouth County Sheriff Officers, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that government officials were entitled to qualified immunity for civil rights claims arising under the New Jersey Civil Rights Act (NJCRA), N.J.S.A. 10:6-2 and the federal Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C. 1983. Most importantly, especially

Paulsboro train derailment lawsuit

NJ District Court Dismisses Property Tax Claim Tied to Paulsboro Train Derailment

A New Jersey district judge recently dismissed part of a lawsuit filed by the Borough of Paulsboro in the wake of a 2012 train derailment and subsequent chemical spill. The federal court held, on a motion to dismiss under FRCP 12(b) (6), that the borough had failed to plead facts

NJ Supreme Court Narrows Keyport Decision

Court Rules Hamilton Township Zoning Board Not Biased Against Strip Club

A federal judge in New Jersey recently dismissed a suit alleging that the Township of Hamilton’s zoning board violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by improperly denying an adult entertainment establishment’s application for a business license and repair permit. The Facts of the Case In Harding Brass v.

NJ Appeals Court Clarifies Municipality’s Authority to Regulate Volunteer Fire Company

NJ Appellate Court Clarifies Municipality’s Authority to Regulate Volunteer Fire Company

The Appellate Division recently addressed the scope of N.J.S.A. 40A:14-68, which allows a municipality to exercise “supervision and control” over a volunteer fire company, designated as its official firefighting organization. In Newfield Fire Co. No. 1 v. Borough of Newfield, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division upheld an