Category: Business Law

In Re Ingalls

BANKRUPTCY; FRAUD; FIDUCIARY DUTIES — In bankruptcy, a creditor may seek to have a debt declared non-dischargeable if the creditor can prove five elements based on fraud or prove that the debtor was a fiduciary and had fraudulently misappropriated funds.

• Opinion Date: February 19, 2010

Richardson v. UN Empress Properties, LLC

VEIL PIERCING — Courts recognize that principals of small businesses sometimes loosely refer to themselves as “owners,” but that, by itself, does not make them liable for their company’s debts.

• Opinion Date: April 7, 2010

Eagan v. Gory

PARTNERSHIPS — Although a person who shares in the profits of a business is presumed to be a partner unless the profits are received in payment of specific obligations of the partnership, there are seven other elements that must be considered.

• Opinion Date: April 12, 2010

TJD Architects v. Cervini’s Auto Designs

ACCORD AND SATISFACTION — In order to apply the principle of accord and satisfaction, there must be a finding that the party making the payment and the party receiving the payment both intended that acceptance of the payment would constitute full satisfaction of the obligation; therefore, a court must determine the intention of the recipient when it crosses out language such as “release of all claims” on the back of a check.

• Opinion Date: March 2, 2010

Griffin v. Burlington Volkswagen, Inc.

CONTRACTS; ARBITRATION — Agreements to arbitrate must be read liberally in favor of arbitration and an arbitration agreement containing terms such as “arising out of” or “relating to,” reflects an indication of an agreement to arbitrate any dispute relating “in any way” to the contract.

• Opinion Date: February 8, 2010

Odoemene v. Greenpoint Mortgage Funding, Inc.

FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT — The Fair Credit Reporting Act does not establish a private cause of action against persons who violate the duties imposed by the Act with respect to providing inaccurate information to a credit reporting agency.

• Opinion Date: January 28, 2010

CFG Health Systems, LLC v. County of Essex

PUBLIC BIDDING — The public bidding statute requires a resolution authorizing a competitive contracting process to be passed each time a public agency desires specialized goods or services and the failure to pass a resolution is a fatal defect requiring rebidding of the proposed contract.

• Opinion Date: January 25, 2010

Cohen v. Chase Bank, N.A.

ARBITRATION; CLASS ACTIONS — New Jersey will honor other state’s laws upholding an arbitration provision in a credit card agreement if there is a proper choice of law provision is in a credit card agreement, but will excise a class action waiver from the agreement even though not invalidating the entire agreement by reason of the purported class action waiver.

• Opinion Date: January 20, 2010

Cooper v. Barnickel Enterprises, Inc.

WORKERS COMPENSATION — Off-premises employees enjoy the same ability to deal with certain basic needs enjoyed by on-premises employees such as coffee and lunch breaks and if it is reasonable for an employee to travel a short distance to enjoy a coffee break and then the employee is injured during that travel, such injury is compensable under the Workers Compensation Act.

• Opinion Date: January 13, 2010

Fox v. Drozd

ATTORNEYS FEES — An attorney’s bill for services must be reasonable both as to the hourly rate and as to the services performed, and the practice of estimating billable hours long after the fact calls into question the validity of an attorney’s bill.

• Opinion Date: January 13, 2010