New Jersey Supreme Court

Nearly a decade ago, the New Jersey Supreme Court in Atalese v. U.S. Legal Services Group, L.P., held that for an arbitration agreement to be enforceable, it had to contain an explicit waiver of the parties’ right to seek access to court. According to a recent New Jersey Appellate Division opinion, that long-standing rule has been qualified to reflect the relative sophistication of the parties involved in the dispute. In County of Passaic v. Horizon Healthcare Services, Inc. d/b/a Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the Appellate Division considered a contract between the County and the entity that managed the County’s self-funded benefits plan. Following the County’s institution of a breach of contract lawsuit, Horizon successfully moved to compel arbitration based upon a clause in the parties’ agreement that required “[i]n the event of any dispute between the parties to this Agreement arising under its terms, the parties shall submit the dispute to binding arbitration under the commercial rules of the American Arbitration Association.” The clause in question contained no explicit waiver of court access. Consequently, the County appealed the decision, arguing for that very reason, the arbitration clause was unenforceable.

Continue Reading New Jersey Appellate Division Qualifies Longstanding Arbitration Requirement That Waiver of Court Relief Must Be Express

Epstein Becker Green Lawyers Anthony Argiropoulos, Theodora McCormick, William Gibson, and Maximilian Cadmus Argue for Amicus Curiae New Jersey Doctor-Patient Alliance

On August 25, 2022, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued on an important decision in Mirian Rivera v. The Valley Hospital, Inc., (A-25/26/27-21)(085992)(085993)(085994), reaffirming the exceedingly high bar for punitive damages claims in medical malpractice cases in New Jersey. This is an important decision for healthcare providers as it provides them with broad protection from punitive damages claims (which are not covered by malpractice insurance) that are really negligence or gross negligence claims in disguise.

Continue Reading NJ Supreme Court: No Punitive Damages in Medical Malpractice Case Without Evidence of Wanton and Willful Conduct

Congratulations. You’ve been sued in court in New Jersey. To make matters worse, the complaint is full of lies. Not distorted versions of the truth or someone’s interpretation of events that actually occurred, but outright false statements of fact. The kind that make you look bad in your personal and business communities. The kind that