Recent Decisions of the New Jersey Appellate Courts
from 2021-05-02
to 2021-05-16
Docket No.: a-77-19
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: Ellen Baskin v. P.C. Richard Son, LLC
Summary:
FERNANDEZ-VINA, J., writing for the Court. In this case, the Court considers whether plaintiffs, who suffered no actual harm and are seeking statutory damages, sufficiently pled a class action against defendants for noncompliance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) such that their complaint should have survived a motion to dismiss under Rule 4:6-2(e).
Docket No.: a1406-19
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: NEW JERSEY DIVISION OF CHILD PROTECTION AND PERMANENCY
v. J.Y.
Status: Published
Summary:
MOYNIHAN, J.A.D. Defendant J.Y. appeals from the trial court's order denying in part his motion to change a previously-established, court-ordered parenting time/visitation schedule with his daughter, J.T. (Jada), 1 and to vacate a kinship legal guardianship (KLG) judgment entered on June 15, 2010, appointing J.J.- C. (Jessye), a maternal relative, as Jada's KLG guardian. On appeal, defendant argues: POINT I BECAUSE THE COURT FAILED TO FOLLOW THE PROCEDURES MANDATED BY TITLES 9 AND 30, ITS ORDER LIMITING [DEFENDANT'S] CONTACT WITH HIS DAUGHTER [JADA] WAS IMPROPER AS A MATTER OF LAW AND VIOLATED HIS FUNDAMENTAL PARENTAL RIGHTS AS WELL AS HIS RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS, AND MUST THEREFORE BE VACATED. 1 We use pseudonyms for the parties and the child to protect their privacy, preserve the confidentiality of the proceedings and for the reader's convenience. 2 Jada had been placed with Jessye in June 2009. A-1406-19 2 POINT II [DEFENDANT] WAS NOT A PARTY TO THE KLG PROCEEDINGS AND IS NOT BOUND BY THE KLG ORDER, AND THEREFORE THE COURT'S USE OF THAT ORDER AS RES JUDICATA SUPPORTING PREEMPTION OF [DEFENDANT'S] RIGHT TO VISITATION WAS IMPROPER AS A MATTER OF LAW. We reverse and remand.
Docket No.: a1040-19
Decided: 2021-05-06
Caption: MICHAEL BESSASPARIS v. THE TOWNSHIP OF BRIDGEWATER
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Having pleaded causes of actions sounding in constitutional and civil- rights violations stemming from a denial of a towing license and alleged violations of a towing ordinance, plaintiffs appeal orders granting defendants' summary-judgment motions and denying plaintiffs' reconsideration and reinstatement motions. Because the court erred in its application of tort-claim immunities and statute-of-limitations law, we reverse.
Docket No.: a1714-19
Decided: 2021-05-06
Caption: VALENTINA TARTIVITA v. BOROUGH OF UNION BEACH
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Defendant Borough of Union Beach (Borough) appeals the December 9, 2019 Tax Court judgment reversing the Monmouth County Board of Taxation's $1196,700 assessment for the 2018 tax year––an approximately forty-six percent increase from the 2017 tax assessment of $135,000––regarding plaintiff Valentina Tartivita's residence (the property). The Tax Court concluded that based on the Freeze Act, N.J.S.A. 54:51A-8 and N.J.S.A. 54:3-26, the property's tax assessment for 2017 should remain the same for 2018, because "the Borough [did] not overcome its burden to prove that the Freeze Act relief [did] not comply . . . ." The Tax Court emphasized that the Borough failed perform an annual reassessment of every Borough property under the Real Property Assessment Demonstration Program (ADP) law, N.J.S.A. 54:1-101 to -106. We affirm substantially for the reasons set forth in Tax Court Judge Mala Sundar's cogent written decision.
Docket No.: a2504-19
Decided: 2021-05-06
Caption: MAPLE HEALTH WELLNESS CENTER, LLC v. MARRAFFA & ASSOCIATES, INC
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Plaintiff Praxis HCS, Inc. (Praxis) appeals from the December 6, 2019 order of the Law Division granting summary judgment to defendant Marraffa $1 Associates, Inc. (Marraffa) and dismissing Praxis's claims for lack of standing, as well as the court's January 10, 2020 order denying Praxis's motion for reconsideration. We affirm the January 10, 2020 order and dismiss the appeal of the December 6, 2019 order.
Docket No.: a2649-18
Decided: 2021-05-06
Caption: B.B.,1 v. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Inmate B.B. filed this appeal to challenge the Department of Corrections' finding that he violated prohibited act $1.708, refusing to submit to a search, three times, and prohibited act *.258, refusing to submit to testing for a prohibited substance, one time. See N.J.A.C. 10A:4-4.1(a)(2). The Department imposed consecutive sanctions for each prohibited act, resulting in an aggregate sanction of 450 days of administrative segregation, 180 days of lost commutation time, 30 days of lost recreation privileges, 365 days of urine monitoring, and permanent loss of contact visits. We requested the video evidence that the agency said it relied upon to substantiate the charges. The agency ultimately reported that the video evidence was no longer operable. In light of that development, the agency then filed a motion for a remand for the purpose of dismissing the disciplinary charges that are the subject of this appeal.
Docket No.: a3172-19
Decided: 2021-05-06
Caption: ROBERT SMALL v. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Following our remand, petitioner Robert Small, an inmate at South Woods State Prison (SWSP), appeals the November 25, 2019 final agency decision by the Department of Corrections (Department), denying his claim for reimbursement for lost, damaged or destroyed property.
Docket No.: a4058-19
Decided: 2021-05-06
Caption: DEERFIELD DISTRIBUTING INC. v. JEFFREY D. GRATZ
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM In this appeal, plaintiffs argue the trial judge erred – after a five-day bench trial – in, among other things: determining a restrictive covenant contained in a confidentiality agreement signed by the individual defendants – plaintiffs' former employees – was unenforceable; finding the individual defendants did not violate the confidentiality agreement; and rejecting the claim that the individual defendants and their new employer conspired to breach the agreement. We find no merit in plaintiffs' arguments and affirm.
Docket No.: a4396-18
Decided: 2021-05-06
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. G.L
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM The question before us is whether the post-conviction relief (PCR) court erred in not vacating defendant G.L's1 guilty plea to second-degree sexual assault, N.J.S.A. 14-2(b), without an evidentiary hearing. We agree that the court properly dismissed defendant's claim that trial counsel failed to file a motion to suppress defendant's statement to the police. We, however, reverse and remand for an evidentiary hearing to determine if defendant's plea was involuntary because counsel pressured defendant into pleading guilty during the plea colloquy.
Docket No.: a4410-18
Decided: 2021-05-06
Caption: MICHAEL PRICE II v. LIFE TIME FITNESS, INC
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Plaintiff Michael Price, II, appeals the May 1, 2019 dismissal of his eight- count complaint against his former employer defendant Life Time Fitness, Inc., and his former supervisors, Bryan Smith, Paul Russo, Marc Polombo, and Eric Moore. For the reasons stated on the record by Judge Stephen L. Petrillo in his cogent and thoughtful decision, we affirm.
Docket No.: a0264-19
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. JIHAD SHARRIEFF
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Defendant appeals from an August 13, 2019 order denying his third post- conviction relief (PCR) petition. We affirm.
Docket No.: a1211-19
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: P.T v. A.T
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM In this post-judgment divorce matter, defendant A.T.,1 who according to the undisputed record has not been allowed to see his child in over four years, appeals the latest order in a series of orders imposing a "temporary suspension" of his parenting time. Because the court's continuous suspension of his parenting time is unsupported by any finding of defendant's unfitness or harm to the child and because the court misapplied the law, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Docket No.: a1275-20
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. JOSEPH COLEMAN
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Defendant Joseph Coleman appeals from a November 30, 2020 order denying his Rule 3:21-10(b)(2) motion for release due to an illness or infirmity. We affirm, substantially for the reasons set forth in the cogent and thoughtful opinion of Judge Janetta D. Marbrey.
Docket No.: a1557-19
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: MTGLQ INVESTORS, L.P v. RAHMAN GABR
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Defendant Rahman Gabr appeals from a final judgment of foreclosure entered by the Chancery Division on December 4, 2019, contending plaintiff MTGLQ Investors, L.P. (MTGLQ) lacked standing to foreclose. We affirm.
Docket No.: a1803-19
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: RIALTO-CAPITOL CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC v. SANDI KWON
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Defendant Sandi Kwon appeals the November 22, 2019 orders that granted summary judgment to plaintiff Rialto-Capitol Condominium Association, Inc., entering a judgment against defendant for unpaid maintenance and late fees, interest and attorney's fees of $149,581.05, and dismissing defendant's counterclaims with prejudice. Defendant also appeals the March 29, 2019 order that partly denied her motion under Rule 4:6-2 to dismiss the complaint. For reasons that follow, we affirm the orders.
Docket No.: a2215-19
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: JEROME D. JETER v. BOARD OF REVIEW DEPARTMENT OF LABOR and THRIFT DRUG, INC
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Jerome D. Jeter appeals from a final determination of the Board of Review (Board), which found he was not entitled to unemployment benefits pursuant to N.J.S.A. 43:21-5(a). We affirm.
Docket No.: a2733-19
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: JEFFREY HEMINGWAY v. BOARD OF REVIEW DEPARTMENT OF LABOR and ONE POINT HRO LLC
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Jeffrey Hemingway appeals from the January 31, and March 5, 2020 final agency decisions issued by respondent Board of Review, affirming dismissals entered by the Appeal Tribunal.
Docket No.: a3043-19
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: RHASUN TAPP, SR v. SOUTH JERSEY CUSTOMS LLC
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM We were advised this matter has been amicably adjusted, and the parties have stipulated to the dismissal of this appeal. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed with prejudice and without costs. Dismissed.
Docket No.: a3077-19
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: THOMAS PAGUREK v. BETH J. DORFMAN, D.D.S.
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Plaintiffs Thomas Pagurek and Irene Pagurek appeal from an order entered by the Law Division on February 14, 2020, which granted a motion by defendants Beth J. Dorfman, D.D.S., and Ralph S. Reilly, D.M.D., for summary judgment.1 Plaintiffs also appeal from an order dated March 27, 2020, which denied their motion for reconsideration. We affirm.
Docket No.: a4037-19
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: TYREESE EVANS v. NEW JERSEY STATE PAROLE BOARD
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Tyrese Evans appeals from a May 27, 2020 New Jersey State Parole Board (Board) final agency decision revoking his mandatory supervision status and establishing a twelve-month parole eligibility term. We affirm.
Docket No.: a4149-19
Decided: 2021-05-05
Caption: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION v. JUSTO SANTOS
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM In this foreclosure action, defendant Justo Santos appeals from the April 20, 2020 Chancery Division order denying his motion to vacate final judgment entered on April 4, 2019. After reviewing the contentions in light of the record and applicable legal principles, we affirm.
Docket No.: a0607-20
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: THE ESTATE OF JAMES RHODA v. SOUTH JERSEY EXTENDED CARE
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM On leave granted, defendants South Jersey Extended Care (SJEC), H.W./Weidco/Ren, LLC, Bridgeton H$1V Realty, LLC, Comprehensive Healthcare Management and Broadway Healthcare (collectively the nursing home defendants)1 appeal from the trial court's order denying their motion to file a third-party complaint joining Inspira Medical Centers, Inc., Inspira Medical Center Vineland (collectively Inspira) and Delaware Valley Urology, LLC to an action filed against SJEC based in negligence, violation of the New Jersey Nursing Home Responsibilities and Rights of Residents Act, N.J.S.A. 30:13-1 to -17, and willful and wanton acts resulting in an infection that led to a partial amputation of plaintiff James Rhoda's anatomy.
Docket No.: a1442-19
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: KAREN CHAVIS v. NORWOOD TERRACE HEALTH CENTER, LLC
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
FUENTES, P.J.A.D. In this nursing home malpractice and wrongful death case, defendants argue the Law Division erred in denying their motion to enforce an arbitration clause included in the Admission Agreement executed by decedent at the time of her admission into the nursing home. We disagree. Based on the undisputed salient facts of this case and mindful of the standards established by the Supreme Court in Cole v. Jersey City Medical Center, 215 N.J. 265, 280-81 (2013), we hold the trial court correctly found defendants waived their right to enforce the arbitration clause in the Admission Agreement.
Docket No.: a1966-18
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. STEVEN L. BOOKMAN
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Defendant appeals from his jury trial conviction for second-degree certain persons not to have weapons, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-7(b). He contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the handgun found in his jacket pocket. He also contends his admission to police that the gun was concealed in his pocket was elicited in violation of his Miranda rights. 1 Defendant further contends the trial court erred by denying his Batson/Gilmore 2 motion contesting the prosecutor's use of peremptory juror challenges, and by allowing the State at trial to elicit testimony regarding another gun and drugs that were found in the residence into which defendant had fled. He also argues the court imposed an excessive sentence. After carefully reviewing the record in light of the applicable principles of law, we reject all but one of defendant's contentions. The record before us shows that the trial court abruptly ended the Batson/Gilmore hearing after the prosecutor offered a race-neutral explanation for only one of the two African American jurors who, defendant claims, were impermissibly challenged on the basis of race. We remand the matter for the trial court to complete the truncated hearing.
Docket No.: a1989-19
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: NEW JERSEY DIVISION OF CHILD PROTECTION AND PERMANENCY v. M.K and Y.R.B
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Defendant M.K.1 appeals from a March 11, 2019 order finding she abused or neglected her thirteen-year-old son, R.K. (Ryan), by failing to arrange for his care when she left him home for multiple days in September and October 2018. We reverse.
Docket No.: a2502-19
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. CHANCE L. HARMON
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Defendant Chance L. Harmon appeals from an August 3, 2018 order issued by Judge Gwendolyn Blue denying his petition for post-conviction relief (PCR) without an evidentiary hearing. We affirm.
Docket No.: a2575-18
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. ANDRE MELLS
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
OSTRER, J.A.D. Defendant Andre Mells appeals from the trial court's denial of post- conviction relief after an evidentiary hearing on some of his claims. Mells collaterally challenges his convictions for first-degree purposeful murder and related second-degree weapons offenses. On appeal, he contends that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by not obtaining his consent before urging the jury to consider lesser- included offenses, and by not filing a Brady1 motion where the State failed to preserve, or to provide the defense with, crime-scene video footage. He also argues that trial counsel ineffectively addressed inconsistencies in three eyewitnesses' descriptions, and responded ineffectively when one eyewitness quoted the victim's identification of defendant. Mells argues: POINT I THE COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT THE CLAIMS OF INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE DID NOT 1 Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). A-2575-18 2 PREJUDICE DEFENDANT AND WOULD NOT HAVE CHANGED THE RESULT OF THE TRIAL. POINT II THE COURT ERRED IN FAILING TO FIND COUNSEL RENDERED INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE FOR FAILURE TO GET DEFENDANT'S PERMISSION TO ARGUE FOR THE LESSER INCLUDED CRIMES. POINT III THE COURT SHOULD ORDER A NEW TRIAL BECAUSE COUNSEL VIOLATED HIS SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO CHOOSE THE OBJECTIVE OF HIS DEFENSE. MCCOY V. LOUISIANA, 584 U.S. ___ (2018)[.] [(]NOT RAISED BELOW[)]. POINT IV THE COURT ERRED IN FAILING TO FIND COUNSEL INEFFECTIVE FOR FAILURE TO FILE A MOTION FOR THE STATE'S FAILURE TO PRESERVE AND TURN OVER THE VIDEO RECORD. BRADY V. MARYLAND, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). We affirm.
Docket No.: a2634-18
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. NUR-RAHEEM PACK
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM After a 1997 jury trial, defendant Nur-Raheem Pack was found guilty of murder and other criminal acts. He was a seventeen-year-old juvenile at the time of his offenses. The trial court imposed upon him a life sentence, subject to a thirty-year period of parole ineligibility.
Docket No.: a2807-18
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. RAQUEL GARAJAU
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM After a twenty-four-day jury trial at which at least thirty-four witnesses testified, defendant appeals from her sixteen convictions stemming from her role in the death of the victim, who was shot during a robbery committed by her co - defendant boyfriend, Joseph Villani.
Docket No.: a3214-19
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. GERARD L. BROWN
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Defendant appeals from a February 28, 2020 judgment of conviction, finding him guilty of harassment, N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4(a). Because defendant did not receive notice of the harassment charge prior to trial, he was deprived of his right to due process. Accordingly, we reverse his conviction for harassment.
Docket No.: a3292-19
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: NOEL KELLY and MARY BUCKLEY v. BOROUGH OF OCEANPORT UNIFIED PLANNING BOARD
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Plaintiffs, who submitted an application to defendant Borough of Oceanport Unified Planning Board seeking minor subdivision and bulk variance relief regarding property they own, appeal the trial court's affirmance of the board's denial of their application and dismissal of their complaint.
Docket No.: a3560-19
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: OLGA TCHIKINDAS v. BASSER-KAUFMAN MANAGEMENT CORP.
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Basser-Kaufman Management Corp., Basser Kaufman, Inc., Uniondale WG, LLC, Marlboro Plaza Associates, LLC, and Marlboro Plaza Associates (collectively, B-K), appeal from: (1) orders dated July 16, 2019, which denied B.K.'s motion for summary judgment and granted summary judgment in favor of TJX Companies – TJ Maxx, TJX Operating Companies, Inc., and TJX Companies, Inc. (collectively, TJX) on TJX's claim for indemnification and defense costs; (2) an order dated October 30, 2019, which denied B-K's motion for reconsideration; and (3) a judgment dated April 27, 2020, awarding TJX $127,329.30 in defense costs. TJX cross-appeals from the April 27, 2020 order. For the following reasons, we affirm on the appeal, and remand for further proceedings on the cross-appeal.
Docket No.: a0211-20
Decided: 2021-05-03
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. RAHMAN J. HERRILL
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Defendant Rahman J. Herrill appeals from the denial of his third petition for post-conviction relief (PCR) without an evidentiary hearing. We affirm.
Docket No.: a0545-19
Decided: 2021-05-03
Caption: IN THE MATTER OF THE APPEAL OF THE DENIAL OF D.P.'S APPLICATION FOR A FIREARMS PURCHASER IDENTIFICATION CARD AND A HANDGUN PURCHASE PERMIT
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM D.P.1 appeals from a September 6, 2019 order upholding a municipal police chief's denial of his application for a New Jersey Firearms Purchaser Identification Card (FPIC) and a handgun purchase permit (HPP). We affirm for the cogent reasons placed on the record by Judge Christopher R. Kazlau on
September 6, 2019.
Docket No.: a1125-18
Decided: 2021-05-03
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. MYKAL L. DERRY,
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Tried by a jury, defendants Malik and Mykal Derry were convicted of the murder of Tyquinn James, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3(a)(1) and (2), and conspiracy to commit murder, N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2 and 2C:11-3. On September 26, 2018, the trial judge sentenced each defendant on the crime of murder to a term of fifty years of imprisonment subject to the No Early Release Act's (NERA) eighty-five- percent parole-bar. See N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2(a). A concurrent fifty-year term of imprisonment for the conspiracy conviction was also imposed, and the judge ordered $124,520 to be paid in restitution by each defendant. Defendants appeal, and we affirm, except that we remand for the limited purpose of correcting the judgments of conviction to reflect required mergers.
Docket No.: a1242-19
Decided: 2021-05-03
Caption: MICHAEL O'CONNOR v. ZOHRA, L.L.C
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Michael O'Connor (plaintiff) was injured when during the course of his employment a garage gate fell on him as he attempted to close it. The gate was located on property owned by defendant Zohra, LLC, which Zohra leased to third-party defendant Mehmet Emin Tekin. Plaintiff settled his personal injury case and is not involved in this appeal.
Docket No.: a1454-19
Decided: 2021-05-03
Caption: IN THE MATTER OF DEAN TESTA, POLICE SERGEANT
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Dean Testa appeals from an October 29, 2019 final decision of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) which found that the Township of Rockaway (Township) did not abuse its discretion in bypassing him for promotion to the position of sergeant. We affirm.
Docket No.: a1700-19
Decided: 2021-05-03
Caption: JAMES THOMAS v. SHEYEAST THOMAS
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM The parties each appeal from certain aspects of the November 19, 2019 order and final judgment of divorce. After a review of the respective contentions in light of the record and applicable principles of law, we affirm.
Docket No.: a1896-19
Decided: 2021-05-03
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. TROY BUNERO
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM On June 30, 2015, a jury found defendant Troy Bunero guilty of second- degree conspiracy, N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2; two counts of second-degree official misconduct, N.J.S.A. 2C:30-2; second-degree pattern of official misconduct, N.J.S.A. 2C:30-7(a); third-degree theft by unlawful taking or disposition, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3(a); third-degree misapplication of entrusted government property, N.J.S.A. 2C:21-15; third-degree tampering with public records, N.J.S.A. 2C:28-7(a)(1) and (2); and fourth-degree tampering with records, N.J.S.A. 2C:21-4(a).1 Defendant was sentenced to an aggregate five-year prison term. His direct appeal of his convictions was unsuccessful. State v. Bunero, No. A-2126-15 (App. Div. Apr. 2) (slip op. at 3), certif. denied, 235 N.J. 464 (2018).
Docket No.: a2359-19
Decided: 2021-05-03
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. ANDREW M. BRIGHT-BAILEY
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM After pleading guilty, defendant appeals from his conviction for second- degree conspiracy to commit robbery, N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2(a)(1).1 He primarily challenges an order denying his motion to suppress his statements to police. The judge determined that defendant knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his Miranda2 rights based on the totality of the circumstances, including his age, prior criminal history, conduct and demeanor during the interrogation. We affirm.
Docket No.: a3031-18
Decided: 2021-05-03
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. E.S.
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Tried by a jury in October 2018, defendant E.S. was found guilty of eight counts of sexual assault and other offenses he committed against his fiancé's minor daughter, K.I.
Docket No.: a3081-19
Decided: 2021-05-03
Caption: STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. LIVIO A. MORALES
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Defendant Livio A. Morales appeals from a February 3, 2020 order denying his petition for post-conviction relief (PCR) without an evidentiary hearing. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
Docket No.: a3199-19
Decided: 2021-05-03
Caption: FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE, LODGE NO. 164
Status: Unpublished
Summary:
PER CURIAM Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 164, Superior Officers Association (FOP), the collective negotiations unit for Rutgers University Police Department (RUPD) lieutenants and sergeants, appeals from the trial court's order denying its motion to vacate an arbitrator's dismissal of a grievance concerning a written reprimand issued to a sergeant and granting her employer's, defendant Rutgers, the State University, cross-motion to dismiss plaintiff's verified complaint.
Docket No.: 012813-20
Decided: 2021-05-04
Caption: Geneva and Preston Neal v. Lawnside Borough
Summary:
This matter is before the court on defendant's motion for summary judgment to dismiss
plaintiff's complaint and plaintiff's cross motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff timely filed an
appeal of the Camden County Tax Board's decision denying plaintiff the exemption from tax for
real property owned by the surviving spouse of a qualified veteran. The Court grants defendant's
motion and dismisses plaintiff's complaint. Although plaintiff's deceased spouse was an
honorably discharged veteran who was declared 100% disabled by the Veteran's Administration,
he did not own the subject premises or any other dwelling house at the time of his death. As a
result the deceased veteran had no exemption that could be claimed by plaintiff as a surviving
spouse.