Judge RODR GUEZ, temporarily assigned, delivered the opinion of the court. The doctrine of merger is based on the concept that "an accused [who] committed only one offense ... cannot be punished as if for two." State v. Davis, 68 N.J. 69 , 77, 342 A.2d 841 (1975). As such, "[m]erger implicates a defendant's substantive constitutional rights." State v. Miller, 108 N.J. 112 , 116, 527 A.2d 1362 (1987); accord State v. Truglia, 97 N.J. 513 , 522, 480 A.2d 912 (1984); Davis, supra,...
Judge CUFF (temporarily assigned) delivered the opinion of the Court. In 1986, the United States Supreme Court held that a prosecutor could not peremptorily challenge potential jurors solely on account of their race. Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 , 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed. 2d 69 (1986). Subsequently, the Court held that it is also unconstitutional for the defendant in a criminal case to utilize peremptory challenges to remove jurors on the basis of race, Georgia v. McCollum, 505 U.S....
Justice PATTERSON delivered the opinion of the Court. In this appeal, the Court determines whether, after a court officer executed a warrant of removal that had been issued in an eviction proceeding, defendant Gene Hinton had a constitutionally protected reasonable expectation of privacy in the apartment he had previously shared with his mother. In March 2009, defendant's mother, the legal tenant of the apartment, died. On a date not revealed in the record, the apartment's owner, evidently...
Justice LaVECCHIA delivered the opinion of the Court. In this appeal, we review an appellate judgment that affirmed a $5.25 million condemnation award for defendant 66 East Allendale, LLC (East Allendale) against plaintiff Borough of Saddle River (Borough). For the reasons that follow, we reverse that judgment and remand for a new trial on just compensation. In a condemnation action the determination sought is the amount of just compensation. Just compensation is a function of the value of...
Justice PATTERSON delivered the opinion of the Court. In this case, the Court applies the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA), N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 to -20, to a mortgage foreclosure rescue plan. Plaintiffs Anthony and Denise D'Agostino, in default of their residential mortgage obligations, entered into a series of transactions with defendant Ricardo Maldonado. As a result of those transactions, defendant obtained title to plaintiffs' home, valued at $480,000, for ten dollars; plaintiffs were...
Justice PATTERSON delivered the opinion of the Court. By virtue of a reassignment within the Mercer County Office of the Public Defender (OPD), defendant Terrence Miller did not meet his attorney until the morning on which his trial was scheduled to begin. The attorney advised the court he was prepared to proceed with the trial but noted defendant's concern that defendant and his counsel had not had sufficient time together prior to the commencement of the proceeding. On defendant's behalf,...
Justice LaVECCHIA delivered the opinion of the Court. Our Mount Laurel decisions recognized a constitutional obligation that municipalities, in the exercise of their delegated power to zone, "afford[] a realistic opportunity for the construction of [their] fair share of the present and prospective regional need for low and moderate income housing." S. Burlington Cnty. NAACP v. Twp. of Mount Laurel, 92 N.J. 158 , 205, 456 A.2d 390 (1983) [hereinafter Mount Laurel II ] (citing S....
Justice ALBIN delivered the opinion of the Court. Many of our citizens suffering from mental disabilities, who are presently institutionalized, can live independent and productive lives in supportive housing in our communities. The challenge has been to find sufficient housing with accompanying services for the mentally disabled. In 2005, the Governor's Task Force on Mental Health reported that many persons institutionalized with mental illness could not be discharged from New Jersey hospitals...
Justice ALBIN delivered the opinion of the court. This case involves the appropriate allocation of costs for the cleanup of environmental contamination of property when one of two insurance companies on the risk has become insolvent. In Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. United Insurance Co., we recognized the difficulty of determining the degree of harm caused by contamination within any particular year from the time of toxic exposure to manifestation. 138 N.J. 437 , 457-59, 650 A.2d 974 (1994)....
PER CURIAM. This appeal explores the limitations on extrajudicial activities of judges. A part-time municipal court judge has been advised by the Advisory Committee on Extrajudicial Activities (Advisory Committee or Committee) that his judicial position and his acting and comedy career are not compatible with the Code of Judicial Conduct ( Code of Judicial Conduct or Code ). A sitting municipal court judge received a request from a newspaper of general circulation to interview him...
Justice HOENS delivered the opinion of the Court. Plaintiffs Darnice Green, Mathew Blumberg, Michael Permenter and Beth Permenter assert that they were tenants in various apartment complexes that are owned by defendants East Coast the Willows, LLC, and East Coast Colonial Apartments, LLC, and that are managed or operated by defendants Morgan Properties, Morgan Management, and Mitchell L. Morgan, Inc. Plaintiffs further assert that they were each the subject of an action to evict them from...
Justice PATTERSON delivered the opinion of the Court. In this insurance coverage litigation, arising from a construction dispute, we address the allocation of defense costs incurred by the common insured of several carriers. We consider, for the first time, whether one insurer with an obligation to indemnify and defend the insured has a direct claim for contribution against its co-insurer for defense costs arising from continuous property damage litigation. We also consider whether such a...
Justice PATTERSON delivered the opinion of the Court. The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 to -20 (CFA or Act), authorizes an award of attorneys' fees to a plaintiff who "suffers any ascertainable loss of moneys or property, real or personal," as a result of a "method, act, or practice" prohibited by the Act. N.J.S.A. 56:8-19. This Court has held that "a plaintiff, who pleads but cannot survive a motion for summary judgment in respect of the issue of ascertainable loss," may...
Judge CUFF (temporarily assigned) delivered the opinion of the Court. Plaintiff and defendant in this matter are divorced parents of an autistic son who has special needs. Both acknowledged that he likely would never be emancipated. At the time of their divorce, the parents negotiated a property settlement agreement (PSA) that deferred some issues about their son for a later date. Several years later when their son enrolled in an out-of-state post-secondary school, the father filed a motion to...
Justice ALBIN delivered the opinion of the Court. One of the main purposes of mediation is the expeditious resolution of disputes. Mediation will not always be successful, but it should not spawn more litigation. In this case, the parties engaged in protracted litigation over whether they had reached an oral settlement agreement in mediation. Instead of litigating the dispute that was sent to mediation, the mediation became the dispute. Communications made during the course of a mediation are...
Judge CUFF (temporarily assigned) delivered the opinion of the Court. In this appeal, we address a party's ability to invoke an arbitration clause where that party moved to compel arbitration twenty-one months after being joined as a defendant to an action and after actively participating in the litigation involving the other party to the arbitration agreement. Plaintiff, a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), was employed by a company that had a contract with a hospital to provide...
Justice PATTERSON delivered the opinion of the Court. In this tax appeal, the Court considers the deductibility of a worthless nonbusiness debt under a provision of the New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act, N.J.S.A. 54A:1-1 to 10-12 (the Act). This case arose from a dispute about such a deduction in the 2004 New Jersey income tax return filed by plaintiffs Harlan W. Waksal and Carol Waksal (the Waksals). In their New Jersey income tax return, as in their federal income tax return for the same...
Justice LaVECCHIA delivered the opinion of the Court. This appeal arises from a post-divorce dispute over the surname given to two children by their married parents. After the parents' divorce was finalized in all respects, including the execution of a property settlement agreement giving both parents joint legal custody and making no mention of any change to the children's surnames, the mother — the parent of primary residence of the children — unilaterally began using a hyphenated version of...
Chief Justice RABNER delivered the opinion of the Court. In this case, a trial judge had two ex parte discussions with a jury, while it was deliberating, and allowed the jurors to take home written copies of part of the jury instructions. Settled case law makes clear that ex parte communications with a jury are improper and must always be avoided. In addition, when a judge gives written instructions to a jury, the relevant court rule requires that the instructions be available for review in...
Justice LaVECCHIA delivered the opinion of the Court. Commercial arbitration has developed as a popular method of dispute resolution for complex business relationships. Parties to a contract can customize an arbitration to handle particular types of business transactions, including adopting their own procedural rules, selecting the substantive law applicable to the dispute, and appointing arbitrators with specialized expertise. Additionally, parties can take solace in knowing that the arbitral...
