June 8, 2017
MICHAEL J. RANKIN reports on a recent New Jersey Appellate Division decision dealing with whether injured motorists who opted for the $15,000 minimum in personal injury protection (PIP) benefits in their standard automobile insurance policy may recover medical expenses exceeding that amount in New Jersey. Two automobile negligence actions were addressed in this single decision by the Appellate Division because the actions shared this common legal question. The Appellate Division held that the New Jersey PIP statutes limiting PIP recovery apply only to copayments and deductibles.
As way of background, a driver's PIP benefits generally pay for, amongst other things, the driver's medical and rehabilitative expenses incurred after suffering an injury in a car accident in New Jersey(...)
May 20, 2017
On May 20, 2017 Kozyra & Hartz, LLC sponsored The Kingsland Manor 3rd Annual Baseball Classic held at Yanticaw Park, Nutley, New Jersey. This event stepped back in time to celebrate the love and history of baseball in the 19th century with the Flemington Neshanock Baseball Club and the Kingsland Colonels of Nutley Baseball Club sponsored by the Kingsland Manor Trust [http://kingslandmanor.org/index.html].
Both teams played by 19th Century rules, used authentic replicas of 19th Century equipment and wore 19th Century uniforms. Each player, as was custom in the mid-19th century, played the field barehanded. The game also featured a dramatic reading of the 1888 poem "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Thayer.
Kozyra & Hartz, LLC is proud to be a sponsor of this wonderful annual event and(...)
May 8, 2017
On May 5, 2017 Barry A. Kozyra celebrated Law Day with students from Spring Garden School, who tried a case involving the 14th Amendment as to both due process and equal protection of the law. The mock trial fact pattern involved a female student who had shaved her head in violation of a school rule and was suspended, while male swim team members were allowed to shave their heads for their sport without sanction. The students played the roles of witnesses and co-counsel, and demonstrated an understanding of the issues, their legal rights and how the courts work when juries are involved.
April 26, 2017
MICHAEL J. RANKIN reports on a recent case where New Jersey's Appellate Division upheld the trial court's decision to grant Defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing a complaint brought by Defendants' social guest who was allegedly injured at Defendants' home during an Easter party.
While leaving the Easter party at Defendants' home, Plaintiff's heel of her shoe caught on the metal weather-strip of the door threshold, and she fell into a sunken vestibule. Plaintiff alleged that the area at the time of the incident was dark due to the overhead chandelier being turned off. Plaintiff had visited Defendants' home on between fifteen to twenty prior occasions. During those times, Plaintiff always entered and exited using the same door and over the same threshold, and never(...)
April 18, 2017
MICHAEL J. RANKIN reports on a recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision concerning whether the attorney-review provision of a standard form real estate contract, which specifies that notice of disapproval must be transmitted to the real estate agent or broker by certified mail, telegram, or personal service, must be strictly enforced.
On January 12, 2014, prospective buyers signed a contract to purchase a certain condominium from the seller. The real estate agent prepared, and the parties used, a standard form real estate contract. Seller signed the contract on January 14, 2014.
The agreement included an attorney-review clause which gave the parties' respective attorneys three business days to review the contract before it became legally binding. If buyers' or seller's(...)
