March 4, 2019
ROBERT B. SPAWN reports on a recent unpublished decision from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.
In a recent New Jersey case, a Plaintiff-County initiated two separate construction projects to repair and extend a road in a city (the "Road"), and the Defendants-Design Engineers were hired to, among other things, perform geotechnical evaluations for both projects. The first project, which was completed in 1998, extended portions of the Road near 12th and 14th Streets in the city and included a connector loop constructed on timber pilings. The second project, which extended portions of the Road near 15th Street in the city and connected it to the loop built in the first project, was built on preexisting steel pilings and concrete platforms.
On July 2, 2001, after(...)
February 20, 2019
ROBERT B. SPAWN reports on a recent unpublished decision from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.
In a recent New Jersey case, a Plaintiff-Tenant, who lived in a building owned and maintained by a Defendant-Housing Authority, fell through a hole in the floor of her apartment. After a hospital visit on the night of her fall (in December 2013), Plaintiff followed up with her primary care physician regarding lingering knee and back pain. Per her physician's recommendation, Plaintiff underwent physical therapy for several months, but, because her knee and back pain did not improve, Plaintiff subsequently sought treatment at a chiropractic center, and received twenty-nine chiropractic treatments between February and June 2014. Notably, in the midst of her chiropractic(...)
February 15, 2019
Mr. Stoupakis is a graduate of Drew University (B.A. 2001). He is a graduate of St. John's University School of Law (J.D. 2004) where he was a Staff Member of the St. John's Law Review.
Mr. Stoupakis was admitted to practice law in the State of New Jersey in 2004.
Mr. Stoupakis started his legal career as an Assistant Prosecutor for the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office, under the late Prosecutor James Avigliano. He became an associate at the law firm of DiBiasi & Rinaldi in Nutley, New Jersey, before opening his own law practice as a partner at Koniarelis, Stoupakis & Kalogeras in Fairview, New Jersey.
Mr. Stoupakis has experience in criminal, family, domestic violence, real estate, condominium conversions, contracts and civil litigation.
February 11, 2019
ROBERT B. SPAWN reports on a recent unpublished decision from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.
A recent New Jersey case involved a dispute between four members of a public adjusting business (the "LLC") originally formed in 1999. Each member obtained business for the LLC through solicitation or referral of clients, and all public adjusting fees collected from the clients were paid directly to the LLC.
The managing member ("SK"), pursuant to authority given to him by the LLC's operating agreement, instituted a procedure requiring a member to submit an expense report with supporting receipts in order to receive reimbursement for business expenses. Three members of the LLC (Defendants SK, JS, and JT) routinely submitted such expense reports and received(...)
February 7, 2019
William H. Mone reports on a recent decision from the Supreme Court of New Jersey, overturning the weapons possession convictions of two men based upon the arresting officers' lack of "reasonable suspicion" of criminal activity necessary to temporarily detain and search them.
One night in February 2014, two police officers responded to a noise complaint at a motel. The motel had a reputation for criminal activity, including narcotics distribution. As the officers entered the hallway of the motel, they heard loud music and multiple voices coming from one of the rooms. The police officers made contact with the occupants of the room and indicated that they were there in response to a noise complaint. The police observed about ten people in the room. After a brief conversation, the(...)
