Litigation

Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.

Federal appellate courts have repeatedly made clear that it is not improper for a prosecutor to call and examine a witness in the grand jury knowing that the witness likely will decline to answer the questions based on the privilege against self-incrimination.

Companies defending consumer product class actions in New Jersey have received additional support for fighting these proliferating claims. A Look at Nafar v. Hollywood Tanning Systems, Inc.

Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.

It should not be surprising that in a weak real estate market, developers would seek new sources of revenue. One recent source has generated controversy across the country ' requiring buyers to agree, for themselves and their assigns, to pay a fee upon each resale of the property. These transfer fee covenants raise a number of practical problems, not the least of which is the underlying legal question: Are they enforceable?

Court Denies Joinder of Action That Would Delay Child Support Supreme Court, Nassau County, denied a father's attempt to join his child support obligation termination request to the mother's motion to have him held in contempt for failure to pay, as joinder would delay the proceedings, to the detriment of the children. BJG v. MDG, --- N.Y.S.2d ----, 2010 WL 3384903 (Sup. Ct., Nassau Cty., 8/31/10) (Falanga, J.). …

Happenings in neighboring states.

In last month's newsletter, we looked at two recent cases in which New York courts determined that non-biological/non-adoptive parents could or could not seek ongoing relationships with their former romantic partners' children. The question that arises when looking at these two outcomes is, in which situations will a "virtual parent" be treated as a legal parent?