http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/index.jsp Updated daily en-us 22 May 2012 10:05:06 -0400 Copyright 2009. Incisive Media US Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.law.com/service/terms_conditions.shtml http://www.law.com/img/nj/alert/nj_rss.gif http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/index.jsp An ethics panel says a lawyer who represents an injured motorist and a medical provider in a Personal Injury Protection arbitration may have a conflict but stops short of calling it improper. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202555510660&rss=nj 1202555510660 A measure that would make a trial judge's decision on class-action status appealable immediately, rather than having to wait until a final judgment, wins a state Assembly panel's approval. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202555503341&rss=nj 1202555503341 A bill that would decriminalize possession of marijuana in small amounts is advancing in the New Jersey Legislature with bipartisan support. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202555495838&rss=nj 1202555495838 The Senate Judiciary Committee on unanimously approves for reappointment 17 sitting judges whose initial seven-year terms are nearing an end. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202555507675&rss=nj 1202555507675 Lawyers in New Jersey who compare notes about their clients' suits against a common adversary do not forfeit the work product privilege just because one represents a public entity, a state court says. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202555480104&rss=nj 1202555480104 Nagel Rice is awarded $2.3 million in fees and expenses for its work toward a $1.18 million settlement over insurance coverage for eating-disorder treatments. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202554144210&rss=nj 1202554144210 The New Jersey Supreme Court affirms the doctrine allowing plaintiffs to pursue defamation claims without having to prove actual harm to their reputations, though recovery will be nominal. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202554142015&rss=nj 1202554142015 Walmart is being sued by a shopper who claims he suffered emotional distress from a rogue public address announcement at one of its New Jersey stores. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202553585386&rss=nj 1202553585386 A family court judge acted properly in using most of the monies available for equitable distribution to set up a college fund for the children, even though it left lawyers unable to collect their fees, an appeals court holds. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202553579842&rss=nj 1202553579842 Defense contractors' employees who worked in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing Prudential Insurance, alleging it sold policies without disclosing that war-zone deaths and injuries were not covered. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202554406898&rss=nj 1202554406898 Utility companies that locate their poles without considering whether they are in dangerous spots can be held liable for resulting injuries, the New Jersey Supreme Court rules. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202553587353&rss=nj 1202553587353 Full text of Chief Judge Jerome B. Simandle's State of the District of New Jersey address, given at the State Bar Association annual meeting in Atlantic City on May 18. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202555038575&rss=nj 1202555038575 A New Jersey statute allowing law enforcement officers to tap conversations between people outside the state is not unconstitutional, provided the listening post in located here, the Appellate Division rules. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202554408617&rss=nj 1202554408617 Gov. Chris Christie nominates seven attorneys to the Superior Court bench — three for Hudson County and one each for Monmouth, Morris, Passaic and Union counties. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202554424759&rss=nj 1202554424759 The Assembly Judiciary Committee approves bills that would allow automatic expungements for drug court graduates and other defendants in defined circumstances. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202553587395&rss=nj 1202553587395 A debtor has the initial burden to overcome the presumption of validity of a secured claim, and then the burden shifts to the creditor, the Third Circuit rules. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202554149280&rss=nj 1202554149280 Sharpening the teeth of New Jersey's "pay to play" law, a state appeals court on Tuesday approved a harsher interpretation of the statutory time bar on receiving public contracts after making sizable political contributions. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202553738675&rss=nj 1202553738675 The New Jersey Supreme Court is considering whether tougher rules are needed to ensure parents are not improperly excluded when their children are being questioned as criminal suspects. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202553712945&rss=nj 1202553712945 A New Jersey Senate committee approves a bill that would repeal a statutory provision that presently allows the state to escheat the monetary value from unused gift cards. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202554426440&rss=nj 1202554426440 A New Jersey Senate committee recommends passage of legislation legalizing a form of contract by which a "gestational carrier" agrees to carry and bear a child while ceding parental rights to those who hired her. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202554399090&rss=nj 1202554399090 A new guideline from the Committee on Attorney Advertising bars N.J. lawyers from using favorable quotes or excerpts about themselves in court opinions to advertise their services. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202555114359&rss=nj 1202555114359 A woman who was prescribed medications for off-label uses doesn't have standing to sue the drug company that marketed them, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit says. http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202555145283&rss=nj 1202555145283