Case Law Summaries

Sheehan v. Township of Princeton

ZONING; ORDINANCES; NOTICES — Owners of property in a zoning district are entitled to notice by mail or personal service of any hearing on an amendment to a zoning ordinance proposing a change to the classification of the zoning district as are all owners of real property located within 200 feet of the affected zoning boundaries.

• Opinion Date: July 23, 2008
• Real Property Law

Messer v. SGFootwear/Messer Group

ARBITRATION — Although when there are two related agreements and only one contains an arbitration provision, arbitration can be required of the same parties to both agreements, the same is not true when the two agreements are unrelated and make no reference to each other.

• Opinion Date: April 11, 2008
• Business Law

P.T.K., L.L.C. v. Governing Body of the Borough of Fort Lee

LIQUOR LICENSES — A liquor license may be denied to an applicant who delegates or intends to delegate all management responsibility from the licensed individual to an unlicensed individual because liquor sale operations are required to be under the supervision and control of the licensee.

• Opinion Date: May 21, 2008
• Business Law

Northern Jersey Ear, Nose and Throat Associates, P.A. v. Surow

NON-COMPETITION; INJUNCTIONS — Absent other factors, where an employee can’t show that a restrictive agreement causes him or his patients or customers any undue hardship or that his patients and customers can’t travel beyond the restricted geographical area, an employer is entitled to injunctive relief under a non-competition agreement.

• Opinion Date: June 9, 2008
• Business Law

Smith v. Alza Corporation

PRODUCT LIABILITY; MANUFACTURERS — Under the New Jersey Product Liability Act, the definition of a manufacturer, as a potentially liable party in a product liability action, can include a packager of any product or component of a product.

• Opinion Date: June 9, 2008
• Business Law

MMU of New York Inc. v. Greiser

LANDLORD-TENANT; UNCLEAN HANDS — Even though the defense of unclean hands may be raised against a tenant who failed to pay rent while remaining on the property, that doctrine cannot be used to bar the tenant from defending against a claim for rent payable after the tenant has vacated the premises.

• Opinion Date: May 21, 2008
• Real Property Law

Seaboard Towers Development Company, LLC v AC Holding Corp., II

CONTRACTS — Where one party’s attorney never leads the other party to believe that his or her signature was intended to bind his client to a contract and the second party is aware that the attorney did not have such authority, the contract is not binding.

• Opinion Date: June 10, 2008
• Real Property Law

Wachovia Bank, N.A. v. Akdemir

TITLE INSURANCE — The seller of property is not a party to the title insurance commitment issued to its buyer and therefore cannot sustain a breach of contract claim or a breach of any implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing against the issuing title insurer for failure to list a lien or encumbrance.

• Opinion Date: September 5, 2008

Smith v. Mininni

CONTRACTS; CONTINGENCIES — Where a mortgage contingency clearly states that to terminate the contract based on the buyer’s failure to obtain the called-for mortgage commitment, notice to the seller must be given on or before a fixed date, the buyer only has until that given date to exercise that right even though the basic purpose of such provision is to protect buyers from the consequences of financial incapacity.

• Opinion Date: July 3, 2008
• Real Property Law

147 Broadway Corp. v. Robinson

LANDLORD-TENANT; EVICTION; DAMAGES — The issuing of a judgment in possession, even of a consent judgment with a settlement agreement, does not mean that the tenant has waived its right to challenge any subsequent action by the landlord to recover damages.

• Opinion Date: July 9, 2008
• Real Property Law