|
Paul Carvelli has been nominated as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America,
an honorary trial and appellate lawyer society. Fellowship in the LCA is by invitation only, and Fellows are selected based
on excellence and accomplishment in litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels, as well as superior ethical reputation.
Katie Hirce recently spoke to the Media Law Committee of the District of Columbia Bar’s Arts, Entertainment,
Media and Sports Law Section regarding the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in Too Much Media, LLC v. Hale, 206 N.J. 209 (2011),
where the Court defined who is a journalist eligible for protection of the state’s newspersons’ shield law. The Opinion, which broaches an area
of media law that is expected to become increasingly contentious, largely adopted positions advanced by media entities that filed a
“friend of the court” brief authored by Partner Bruce S. Rosen and Katie.
Kathleen Hirce was interviewed by the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press after U.S. District Judge William Martini decided to withhold jurors' names in the trial of Paul Bergrin, a former defense lawyer who is charged with coordinating the 2004 murder of a confidential witness in a federal drug case against one of his clients. See
http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=12197
John McCusker, with the assistance of Michael Futterman, recently had a motion to dismiss granted with prejudice on all claims on behalf of a Fortune 50 Oil Company in a case in which the plaintiff employee alleged that a certain company document created an implied employment contract, known under New Jersey Law as a Woolley claim. While motions to dismiss in employment cases are rarely granted, we were fortunate enough to succeed on this one, cutting off the client’s expenses at a very early point in the litigation.
The NJ Supreme Court recently defined who is a journalist eligible for protection of the state’s newspersons’ shield law, largely adopting positions advanced by media entities that filed a “friend of the court” brief authored by Partner Bruce S. Rosen and Associate Katie Hirce.
The decision can be read by clicking here. Bruce was quoted in a number of news stories and was interviewed on Fox News about the decision.
Click here to view.
John McCusker, with the assistance of Michael Futterman and Suzanne Murphy, recently had Summary Judgment granted on all claims on behalf of a Fortune 50 Oil Company in a case in which the plaintiff, pursuant to New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination ("LAD") and the New Jersey Constitution, challenged the legality of the company’s Drug and Alcohol Policy. The challenged policy governs company employees world-wide.
John McCusker, with assistance of Patrice LeTourneau, recently successfully settled a FINRA matter brought on behalf of a couple whose savings was stolen from them by a broker who was ultimately criminally prosecuted. The FINRA matter was settled with the brokerage house that employed the broker.
On January 31, 2010, the NJ Supreme Court ruled that expunged criminal records can be used for a defense of truth in a defamation case, upholding the position advocated and argued by Bruce S. Rosen, who represented news media friends of the court.
MARC is pleased to announce that Catherine C. Lopez has been elevated to "Of Counsel" to the firm. Catherine is experienced in environmental law and employment litigation.
John McCusker and Patricia Prezioso, with the assistance of Kathleen Hirce, obtained the reversal of a trial court order denying counsel fees and costs pursuant to the fee-shifting provision of New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (“CEPA”), N.J.S.A. 34:19-6. The MARC attorneys had argued on behalf of a Fortune 500 Pharmaceutical Company, requesting that the Court award fees after a trial on Plaintiff’s CEPA claim resulted in a no-cause verdict. John and Patricia had tried the case on behalf of the Company, as well. The Appellate Division remanded the matter to the trial court, ordering it to make a determination as to whether the Plaintiff’s case was frivolous and filed in bad faith.
On November 14, 2010, Michael Futterman was the program chair for “Tri-State Employment Law: Critical Distinctions You Need To Know,” a continuing education class provided by the New York City Bar. The panel, which included Michael, a former white house counsel, associate general counsel for Citi, and a labor and employment attorney from Epstein Becker & Green, discussed key differences between New York, Connecticut and New Jersey laws governing the workplace. Topics included administrative practice, discrimination laws, leave laws and human resources issues.
In August, Michael Gogal was admitted into the Bar for the District of Columbia. Recently, Mike represented a growing company in negotiating a complex line of credit and related agreements with an international bank, resulting in $1.7 million of financing and Mike also negotiated the sale of a client's contaminated property to a major Northeast municipality along with the assignment of all remediation responsibilities to the municipality and indemnification rights from the municipality.
In an important
decision
that upholds, strengthens and clarifies the “fair report” privilege that allows the media to report on lawsuits and public meetings, the New Jersey State Supreme Court on May 11, 2010 unanimously overturned a lower court ruling that reports on initial complaints were not protected by the privilege and said that once a court ruled the report was fair and accurate, the media was fully protected from any defamation lawsuit.
Michael E. Gogal successfully defended a company against a complaint filed with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. A former employee of Michael's client alleged discrimination in the company's re-hiring decisions after a company lay-off. After a thorough investigation, the Division determined that "no probable cause" existed for the allegation, and dismissed the complaint against Michael's client.
Patricia Prezioso spoke at the New Jersey State Police Homicide Conference in June on “investigating a circumstantial case and the use of various forensic tools.” This year, Patti also addressed the future lawyers association of Seton Hall Prep.
Bill Munday joined the firm as a partner after years as a member of Roseland’s Lowenstein Sandler. Bill brings with him wide expertise on the corporate side: corporate counseling, mergers and acquisitions, financing, real estate acquisition and development, commercial leasing, and zoning and planning law, among other areas.
Paul Carvelli successfully defended a lawsuit seeking damages and a contempt citation for false advertising claims brought by the Federal Trade Commission. Mr. Carvelli served as co-counsel in the matter FTC v. Lane Labs-USA, Inc., in which the U.S. District Court in Newark, following a week-long trial, returned a “no-cause” decision in favor of defendants rejecting the FTC’s false advertising claims. Sills, Cummis & Gross, P.C. served as co-counsel with Mr. Carvelli.
John McCusker and Patricia Prezioso attended the Cristie Kerr "Birdies for Breast Cancer" Celebrity Golf Classic Event and ribbon-cutting ceremony held at Liberty National to benefit the Cristie Kerr Women’s Health Center. The Center, which opened in Jersey City will offer women without insurance access to breast cancer screenings. Birdies for Breast Cancer’s goal is to raise $1M over the next 3 years for the Center.
Michael Gogal obtained a finding of "no probable cause" from the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights on a complaint alleging discrimination in the company's re-hiring decisions after a layoff.
Bruce S. Rosen, Kathleen A. Hirce, and Patrice E. LeTourneau represented North Jersey Media Group Inc., publishers of The Record, the Herald News and Northjersey.com. Rosen said that it was a very important decision in favor of a very important privilege for all who report on public affairs. “This decision removes a lot of uncertainty about the fair report privilege and simplifies the law,” Rosen said. North Jersey Media Group had been sued for a new story it published describing a complaint brought by the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee against the son of the former chairman of a large company that had been accused of extensive fraud. The complaint described almost $500,000 worth of payments made by the company to the son, which it termed a fraudulent transfer and misappropriation of funds. The Record story had described the allegations in the Trustees Complaint as “stealing.” The Supreme Court split 3-3 on whether use of that word was fair and accurate, but because the Appellate Division had also found the report to be fair and accurate (although not protected by fair report because it was an initial complaint), the opinion of the Appellate Division stands, and that portion of the case against North Jersey Media Group is dismissed.
Text of NJ Supreme Court decision
John McCusker, with the assistance of Patrice LeTourneau, recently won two motions to dismiss all claims, with prejudice, on behalf of two of the three named defendants
in a consumer fraud claim against a former parent company to a manufacturer of decking and railing products.
Michael Gogal successfully defended an appeal of a jury’s finding of no cause against his client in a New York labor matter, avoiding a multi-million dollar verdict on the issue of "grave injury.”
Bruce S. Rosen and Kathleen A. Hirce had a
summary judgment
upheld by the Appellate Division of Superior Court in favor of a
Nutley, New Jersey weekly newspaper that was sued for defamation. A front page teaser headline said that two men accused of
civil fraud by the SEC were "arrested," when they were not. The men were not named in the headline and the story describing
the allegations of the $9 million fraud correctly noted the charges were civil. The appeals court said that there was no
"clear and convincing evidence" of actual malice - that is, purposeful or reckless publication of a false and defamatory
statement. The court concluded that the evidence actually demonstrated that the errant word in the headline was "careless
and unfortunate," but not subject to liability. Nutley, NJ April 8, 2010.
Michael Gogal obtained dismissal of an EEOC Charge of Discrimination alleging national origin discrimination.
Bruce S. Rosen and Katie Hirce recently won the case in the New Jersey Supreme Court against an exception to the "fair report" privilege found by the Appellate Division that would subject the media for defamation lawsuits if they write about initial complaints filed in court. The name of the case is Salzano v. North Jersey Media Group Inc.
Paul McCusker, with the assistance of Kate Jensen, Katie Lopez and Suzanne Murphy, recently won a no cause jury verdict for a pipeline company (owned by a Fortune 50 Oil Company) in a negligence action where two homeowner plaintiffs sought recovery based on property damage claims; the homeowners’ insurance companies also pursued subrogation claims. Despite allegations that the operation of the nearby pipeline caused an explosion and fire in the plaintiffs' homes, the jury concluded that plaintiffs had not established causation between the operation of the pipeline and the damage to the property owners’ homes and returned a verdict in favor of MARC’s client.
Michael Gogal recently convinced a federal judge to transfer venue for a criminal defendant accused of money laundering to the defendant's home jurisdiction in Puerto Rico.
John McCusker, Alicyn Craig, Suzanne Murphy and Patricia Prezioso were successful in obtaining a partial summary judgment decision in U.S.
District Court in Newark on behalf of an employer and member of management dismissing claims brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"). The defendants, a Fortune 50 Oil Company, and one of its technical managers were alleged to have violated the ADA, the FMLA, and New Jersey's corresponding state laws, New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination ("LAD") and Family Leave Act ("FLA"), by purportedly discriminating against the first employee plaintiff based on his stuttering, retaliating against him for making a complaint and retaliating against a second employee plaintiff for taking medical leave and for participating in the investigation of the first plaintiff's complaint. The Court granted summary judgment on all federal claims. The Federal Court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the corresponding New Jersey state law claims brought un der the LAD and FLA.
Michael Gogal recently represented an international corporations in separate litigations involving products liability claims involving consumer and industrial equipment.
|
