Local Law Blogs

Minority Oppression: The Business Judgment Rule May Not Shield The Oppressor

Posted on December 15, 2010
The business judgment rule shields directors and officers of a corporation from liability if the decisions made by them were made in good faith, with due care and in the corporation's best interests.  New Jersey Courts have clarified that the 'business judgment rule' is not a defense in cases of oppression of a minority shareholder in a close corporation...

New Jersey Legislature Adopts Law Requiring State Entities to Replace Fossil Fuels with Biofuels

Posted on December 10, 2010
On October 25, 2010, the New Jersey State Assembly overwhelmingly passed by a vote of 77-0 its bill A1052, which amends Title 52 of the Revised Statutes to require State entities generally to 'consider the use of biofuels to replace the use of petroleum-based fossil fuels' and specifically to make such purchases 'for heating equipment, or other similar combustion systems, motor vehicles, or other motorized equipment[]' provided that the State entity determines that (1) the cost of using biofuels is either the same or less than the cost of using fossil fuels and (2) the use of biofuels for the purpose in question is reasonable, prudent and cost effective...

Residential Evictions - More Hurdles For Landlords To Overcome to Evict The Non and Late Paying Tenant

Posted on December 08, 2010
Recently in Matthew G. Carter Apartments v. Richardson, A-1992-09T3 (November 24, 2010) the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, considered an appeal concerning the issue of habitual lateness under New Jersey's Anti-Eviction Act N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61...

Minority Oppression: Shareholders' Agreement Do Not Govern If Minority Oppression

Posted on December 06, 2010
Sometimes defendants who are sued for minority oppression will try to utilize a valuation formula contained in a shareholder's agreement instead of 'fair value.'  That is because shareholders' agreements will  utilize a formula such as 'book value' which more favorable to the oppressor than the statutory required valuation methodology–   'fair value...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Stark & Stark Shareholder Comments on First Command's Martin Durbin's Retirement

Posted on December 02, 2010
Brian A. Carlis, Shareholder in Stark & Stark's Securities Group, was quoted in the December 2, 2010 RIABiz.com article, First Command's Marty Durbin retires -- well after his scandalized IBD went RIA to rehab its image. The article discusses Martin Durbin's recent retirement from First Command Financial Planning...

Billboards: Real or Personal Property When Taken by The Government

Posted on December 01, 2010
On November 1, 2010, the New Jersey Supreme Court refused to review a decision by the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey holding that a billboard located along the New Jersey Turnpike was not 'real property' under the Eminent Domain Act of 1971...

Stark & Stark Shareholder Comments on US Attorney's Attempt to Stop Insider Trading on Wall Street

Posted on November 24, 2010
Kevin M. Hart, Shareholder in Stark & Stark's Litigation Group, was quoted in the November 24, 2010 New York Post article, Fed's Insider Fight. The article discusses Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara's recent initiative to stop insider trading on Wall Street...

Update:Valuation of environmentally contaminated property in a tax appeal case

Posted on November 23, 2010
New Jersey property with environmental contamination still has value but under what circumstances may an appraiser take into account that contamination when preparing an appraisal to be used in a New Jersey tax appeal? The New Jersey Supreme Court answered this question in 1988 in the seminal case of Inmar Associates v...

YAZ® Lawsuit Update: Bellwether Trials in the Federal MDL Scheduled

Posted on November 23, 2010
A large number of YAZ® lawsuits were designated as Mass Tort or Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) cases over the past several months. Just recently, the three initial bellwether trials in the federal MDL were scheduled. Courts utilize a bellwether approach when there are a large numbers of plaintiffs proceeding on the same theory or claim, such as in the Yaz ® cases...

Shareholder Oppression: Mergers As Oppression

Posted on November 22, 2010
Majority or controlling shareholders sometimes use a statutory merger as a method for squeezing out or altering minority shareholder's rights and preferences. New Jersey law provides a statutory procedure by which two or more corporations can be combined into a single corporation even if all of the shareholders do not agree with the merger...

HUD Releases Details on Proposed PowerSaver Pilot Program

Posted on November 22, 2010
On November 9, 2010, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a press release unveiling its proposal to oversee a new loan insurance pilot program intended to support homeowner financing of energy efficient improvements. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P...

New York Resident and Corporation Sue U.S. Green Building Council over Allegations of Unfair Business Practices and Deceptive Marketing

Posted on November 19, 2010
On or about October 8, 2010, Henry Gifford and Gifford Fuel Savings, Inc. (collectively, 'Gifford'), filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against the U.S. Green Building Council ('USGBC'), individually and on behalf of all other similarly situated persons alleging, among other things, that USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating systems are not based on objective criteria and that USGBC has mislead the public as to the efficacy of these protocols in achieving energy efficient buildings to their detriment...

The Class Action Decision in Iliadis v. Wal-Mart Reconfirmed by New Jersey Supreme Court in Lee v. Carter-Reed Co.

Posted on November 18, 2010
In a decision released on September 30, 2010, the New Jersey Supreme Court reaffirmed the holding of its previous decision in Iliadis v. Wal-Mart, where the Court emphasized that, where common issues predominate in the litigation, individual factual differences among the class members will not stand in the way of class certification...

Importance of Getting the Name Right In New Jersey Tax Appeals

Posted on November 16, 2010
It is getting to that time of the year where properties owners are thinking about appealing their property tax assessments for 2011.  A recent Tax Court decision (Prime Accounting Dept. v. Township of Carney) which hopefully will be reversed on appeal, stresses the importance of making certain that the person appealing their tax assessment is either the property owner or someone responsible for paying the taxes...

What to do When the Bank Comes Knocking at Your Door

Posted on November 15, 2010
Timothy P. Duggan, Shareholder and Chair of Stark & Stark's Bankruptcy & Creditor's Rights Group, authored the article What to do When the Bank Comes Knocking at Your Door for the October issue of the New Jersey Lawyer. The article discusses the various options available when dealing with defaulted loans and provides an overview of the more important issues and challenges attorneys face when negotiating a commercial workout or loan modification with a lender...

Minority Oppression: Dilution of the minority shareholder's interest.

Posted on November 12, 2010
Often majority shareholders will reduce the minority shareholder's proportionate voting rights, distributions and voting rights by causing the issuance of additional stock and controlling who receives the newly issued shares.  Typically, the oppressor will issue the new stock at less than its fair value...

A SAFE HARBOR FOR EMPLOYMENT CLAIMS: Employment Policies Offer Protection

Posted on November 10, 2010
When discrimination occurs in the workplace, the aggrieved employee should bring the inappropriate behavior to the attention of the employer, who, ideally, would then investigate the allegation and take prompt, appropriate remedial action.  What happens, though, when, after an employer conducts an investigation and then reprimands or terminates the offending employee, the aggrieved employee continues to pursue legal action against his or her employer?  Can the employer still be held liable even though the employer took prompt, remedial action?   Most courts – at both the state and federal level in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania – hold that employers may often times avert legal exposure, thus creating a safe harbor, if an objective investigation was conducted and prompt, remedial action occurred...

Can Associations Ban Religious Symbols and/or Flags From Their Association?

Posted on November 09, 2010
The Supreme Court of New Jersey addressed this situation in A Committee For A Better Twin Rivers, v. Twin Rivers Homeowners' Association.  In the Supreme Court's decision, authored by Justice John E. Wallace, Jr., the Court determined that even in light of New Jersey's broad interpretation of its constitutional free speech provisions, the "nature, purposes, and primary use of Twin River's property was for private purposes and did not favor a finding that the Association's rules and regulations violated plaintiffs' constitutional rights...

Green Marketing Claims Require Thorough Product Knowledge, Holistic Evaluation of Life Cycle Impacts and Careful Planning

Posted on November 01, 2010
It is no secret that the development of products and services having environmental attributes has proliferated in recent years.  In disseminating these 'green' goods and services to consumers far and wide, advertisers have barraged the public with a plethora of marketing claims...

How To Understand the Federal Housing Administration Financing Guidelines and the Fiduciary Duty of Condominiums

Posted on October 29, 2010
David J. Byrne, Shareholder and Co-Chair of Stark & Stark's Community Association Group, authored the article, How To Understand the Federal Housing Administration Financing Guidelines and the Fiduciary Duty of Condominiums, for the October 18, 2010 edition of the New Jersey Law Journal...

Joint Custody - What Does it Mean?

Posted on October 27, 2010
Matrimonial attorneys are often involved with drafting Marital Settlement Agreements which include arrangements for custody and parenting time.   We are also called upon to review Judgments of Divorce and Orders entered by various judges throughout the state concerning such matters...

Minority Oppression: Stealing

Posted on October 25, 2010
Stealing from the minority shareholder or the corporation itself is a form of actionable oppression. Sometimes shareholders simply steal. More often than not, the bad actor will employ a number of techniques in order to covertly steal from the corporation...

DEP Amends and Supplements Regulations To Facilitate Development of Wind Turbines and Solar Energy Facilities

Posted on October 22, 2010
On September 7, 2010, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) adopted amendments to its Costal Permit Program Rules, Costal Zone Management regulations and Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules to facilitate the development of wind turbines and solar energy facilities...

Possessory Interests in Real Estate

Posted on October 20, 2010
The names set forth on a deed may not always reflect the interests of all parties in the real property.  One such interest is a possessory one of a spouse to joint possession in property occupied as a couple's principal matrimonial residence.  This type of interest is a statutory creation...

Minority Oppression: Conflicts of Interest

Posted on October 18, 2010
The New Jersey minority oppression statute provides redress when 'those in control have acted fraudulently or illegally, mismanaged the corporation, or abused their authority as officers or directors or have acted oppressively or unfairly toward one or more minority shareholders in their capacities as shareholders, directors, officers or employees...

The ABCs of Commercial Real Estate Transactions and Closings

Posted on October 15, 2010
Rachel Lilienthal Stark, Shareholder in Stark & Stark's Banking & Financial Services Group, will present a seminar as part of the Mercer County Bar Association's Xtreme CLE program. The seminar entitled, The ABCs of Commercial Real Estate Transactions and Closings, will take place Wednesday October 27, 2010 from 8:00 - 10:00 AM at the Conference Center at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, New Jersey...

Guarding Against Window Guard Violations

Posted on October 14, 2010
With delinquencies on the rise at most Condominium and Homeowners Associations and with an increasing number of Association foreclosure actions being filed daily, many board members and property managers are finding themselves playing an unexpected role, that of landlord...

Bankruptcy for Non? Bankruptcy Attorneys

Posted on October 13, 2010
Thomas S. Onder, Shareholder in Stark & Stark's Bankruptcy & Creditor's Rights Group, will present a seminar as part of the Mercer County Bar Association's Xtreme CLE program. The seminar entitled, Bankruptcy for Non? Bankruptcy Attorneys, will take place Wednesday October 27, 2010 from 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM at the Conference Center at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, New Jersey...

Associations are not Required to Pay Twice for Services

Posted on October 12, 2010
Associations should be aware that the New Jersey Municipal Services Act ("MSA") provides a protection from unit owners being "double taxed" for various fees and services.  Every homeowner in every New Jersey municipality pays taxes which go, in part, to services such as garbage and recyclables collection, road obstruction removal, street lighting and snow removal...

Notice That a Unit Owner Has Filed Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, the Importance of Preserving the Association's Rights

Posted on October 12, 2010
Receiving notice that a unit owner has filed for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Protection is not the end of a Homeowner's Association, Cooperative or Condominium Association's (collectively referred to as the "Association") rights to receive unpaid Association fees...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.