New Jersey

Appeals court says law firm owes $792K to dad in child-kidnap case, but nixes $424K award to girl

An appeals court has upheld a jury award of $700,000, plus $292,332 in interest and attorney’s fees, won against a New Jersey law firm in 2011 by the father of a girl abducted during a bitter custody battle with the child’s mother. However, the Appellate Division reversed an additional $424,000…

Apr 9, 2014 4:45 PM CDT

Parents of 11 students can be named as defendants in school-bullying suit, judge rules

A trial judge’s ruling earlier this month in a New Jersey school bullying case has the potential to change the legal landscape in such cases nationwide, if other jurists find it persuasive. Ordinarily, the plaintiff family in such cases sues the school district, alleging a failure to take appropriate action…

Mar 31, 2014 10:30 PM CDT

Do rapper’s lyrics support conviction? ACLU cites Johnny Cash song, says lower court was wrong

“I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die,” Johnny Cash famously sang in “Folsom Prison Blues,” which he himself wrote. No one accused the country legend of murder based on that song. But a growing number of rap artists are finding that their lyrics can be used…

Mar 27, 2014 6:03 PM CDT

Elder law attorney charged in $2M theft, accused of helping senior care company owner strip clients

A New Jersey elder law practitioner is facing criminal charges along the owner of a senior care company and two other individuals who allegedly were involved in a scheme that targeted elderly clients without close family and stripped them—and some of their estates—of assets. Attorney Barbara Lieberman, 62, and social…

Mar 20, 2014 8:35 PM CDT

BigLaw managing clerk charged in $5.6M insider-trading scheme, accused of revealing deal info

Updated: A longtime managing clerk in the New York City office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has been accused of using confidential information from the 800-attorney international law firm in an insider-trading scheme. It allegedly dates back to 1999 and reaped $5.6 million in illegal profits on $33 million in…

Mar 19, 2014 6:19 PM CDT

Teen who sued her parents drops the lawsuit

New Jersey teenager Rachel Canning has dropped her suit against her parents after moving back home last week. Judge Peter Bogaard of Morristown dismissed the suit after ruling that Canning’s decision was knowing and voluntary, report the New Jersey Star-Ledger, CNN and the Daily Record. Under questioning by her lawyer,…

Mar 19, 2014 12:31 PM CDT

Widow of attorney gunned down in parking lot of shopping mall files wrongful death suit

The widow of a 30-year-old attorney gunned down last year in the parking lot of an upscale shopping mall has filed a wrongful death suit against the owners of the mall, contending that a security cutback led to the death of Dustin Friedland. The owners of the Mall at Short…

Mar 17, 2014 4:00 PM CDT

Teenager who sued her parents for support has returned home

Developing: A New Jersey teenager who made headlines by suing her parents for support has gone back home. A lawyer for the parents announced Wednesday that Rachel Canning, 18, “has returned home and reunited with her parents and siblings,” reports the Star-Ledger. A press conference by the attorney, Angelo Sarno,…

Mar 12, 2014 3:45 PM CDT

Pregnant mom who doesn’t want dad in the delivery room makes the rules, judge says

In what is being billed as a question of first impression anywhere in the U.S., a New Jersey judge has held that a woman may ban the father of her unborn child from a hospital delivery room. Upholding the mother’s right of privacy, Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed ruled in…

Mar 11, 2014 9:30 PM CDT

3 charged with arson in fires at prosecutor’s office and law firm

Two men and one woman have been charged with arson over fires that occurred within hours of each other at a New Jersey prosecutor’s office and law firm. Felix Lopez, 28; Guillermo A. Veloz, 18; and Zilia Perez, 36, were arrested Friday and charged with aggravated arson and conspiracy, among…

Mar 7, 2014 10:10 PM CST

Dad must pay half of his daughter’s law school expenses at Cornell, appeals court says

A Rutgers University history professor will have to pick up half the cost of his daughter’s education at Cornell Law School, which will cost him about $112,500, according to a New Jersey appeals court. James Livingston is required to pick up the tab because of terms in his divorce settlement…

Mar 5, 2014 7:56 PM CST

High school student, 18, moves in with lawyer’s family, sues parents for support and college tuition

Updated: An 18-year-old high school student in New Jersey wasn’t getting along with her parents. She says they abandoned her, threw her out of their home and refused to pay her tuition at Morris Catholic High School, where she is an honor student. They say she left voluntarily because she…

Mar 4, 2014 11:10 PM CST

Lawyer who inserted client names into 100 asbestos suits to get defense fees takes wire-fraud plea

A New Jersey attorney who admittedly inserted names of his law firm’s clients into more than 100 actual asbestos cases filed in New York to generate defense fees has pleaded guilty in a federal wire fraud case. Arobert C. Tonogbanua, 44, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and…

Mar 4, 2014 10:35 PM CST

Road salt shortage provides lesson in federal admiralty law to NJ state officials

Desperate to replenish the state’s supply of road salt at the tail end of a brutal winter, New Jersey officials have arranged to purchase 40,000 tons in Maine. But the available bulk transport ship that was to bring it to New Jersey can’t do the job because it operates under…

Feb 18, 2014 8:00 PM CST

Chris Christie’s settlement deals as US Attorney reportedly helped spur change in DOJ rules

The U.S. Justice Department issued new rules in 2008 governing out-of-court settlement agreements by federal prosecutors, partly because of unease about deals negotiated by the office of then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, according to a published report. The Washington Post spoke with three former Justice Department officials who said the department…

Feb 11, 2014 3:43 PM CST