Commercial Litigation Update

On October 30, 2024, in Alternative Global One, LLC v. Feingold, the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed a trial court’s orders denying a New Jersey litigant’s motion to quash a subpoena for his deposition in underlying Florida litigation to which he was not a party. This decision illustrates that a litigant, even a non-party, must do more than assert blanket, unsubstantiated objections to a subpoena ad testificandum.

The appeal arose from a Florida litigation. In Alternative Global One, LLC v. Feingold, No. 2023-000688-CA-01 (Fla. Cir. Ct. filed Jan. 17, 2023), plaintiffs Alternative Global Companies filed suit against defendants David Feingold and Michael Dazzo, alleging breach of fiduciary duty, civil theft, conversion, replevin, tortious interference, civil conspiracy, accounting, and unjust enrichment. Along with Richard Cardinale, defendants served as co-managing members of the Alternative Global Companies. But after their resignation, defendants allegedly “attempt[ed] to convert [certain investments] from the Alternative Global Companies to their own benefit” and refused to surrender corporate books and records that they maintained. Pursuant to Rule 4:11-4(b), plaintiffs served a subpoena ad testificandum on appellant Daniel W. Amaniera, who was not a party to the litigation, seeking only to depose him in New Jersey.

On January 16, 2024, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Senate Bill No. 332, “An Act concerning online services, consumers, and personal data” (“SB 332”).  New Jersey is the fourteenth state to pass a comprehensive consumer privacy bill, and the obligations and rights created by SB 332 follow the format used in a growing number of states that have passed comprehensive consumer privacy laws.

Scope and Exemptions

SB 332 imposes obligations on “controllers”  – entities or individuals that determine the purpose and means of processing personal data – that ...

Recently, a federal judge in New Jersey confirmed an arbitration award in favor of an insurer resulting from the independent dispute resolution (“IDR”) process created under the No Surprises Act. This is one of the first times an IDR award has been confirmed by the courts and demonstrates that the FAA’s presumption in favor of arbitration awards will apply to IDR determinations even without reasoned awards.

GPS, a medical practice in New Jersey, performed emergency plastic surgery on a patient in 2022. Following the procedure, GPS submitted a bill to Horizon, the patient’s ...

Once again, with a substantial backlog of cases—some of them potentially controversial—argued and pending decision, the Court continues to sail in relatively calm waters.

On April 26, 2022 the Supreme Court of New Jersey heard arguments about whether New Jersey should retain the judicially created “new business rule”. Since 1936 the rule has held that in the context of calculating damages “prospective profits of a new business are considered too remote and speculative to meet the legal standard of reasonable certainty.” RSB Lab. Servs., Inc. v. BSI, Corp. This case is interesting for aggrieved business litigants as well as interested observers of the appellate process.

Appellate aficionados have undoubtedly heard the news that the distinctively Jerseyan Courier New 12-point font may be on its way out of New Jersey appellate practice. On January 28, 2022, the Supreme Court Rules Committees published proposed amendments to the New Jersey Court Rules, including a number of appellate rules (such as required font). Appellate practitioners should be aware of these potential changes that may be adopted for the New Jersey Appellate Division and Supreme Court.

In a recent Press Release dated December 15, 2021, the Office of the Attorney General for the State of New Jersey (the “N.J. Attorney General’s Office”) announced the settlement, via consent order, of alleged HIPAA violations involving three, New Jersey based cancer treatment providers, In the Matter of RCCA MSO LLC, Regional Cancer Care Associates LLC, and RCCA MD LLC. Two key takeaways from this matter are that New Jersey based health care providers need to be wary of state as well federal authorities when it comes to information security and related policies and warrant substantial investments in cyber security.

Should I click “Reply All”?  Did I accidentally click “Reply All”? These thoughts have run through almost every person’s head when responding to an email that contained numerous other individuals besides the sender. The Reply All option on emails has always been a source of questions surrounding work-place etiquette and embarrassment. On top of that, lawyers should think about one more thing before selecting Reply All: ethics.

A recent opinion by the New Jersey Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics considered the implications of an attorney clicking Reply All on an ...

Long before the birth of Elvis Presley in 1935, and even longer before his recent 86^th birthday on January 8, 2021, King Arthur was the legendary king of choice, and his story was most completely told in Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory. Hence, we embrace the paraphrased allusion in the title above, to both Arthur and the King of Rock-n-Roll, who despite his absence from the public stage since 1977 remains a brand. Thus, Elvis is a good example of what a lay person would call post-mortem publicity rights, as his brand remains one today valued at over $300 million. What is also ...