Charles Toutant

November 20, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

A publishing company that makes a livelihood through superlative ratings of lawyers will now try doing the same for the institutions that graduate them. Super Lawyers Magazine has put out its first annual "performance-based" ranking of 180 U.S. law schools — a byproduct of the lawyer rankings that the publication generates each year across the country.

By Charles Toutant

6 minute read

August 03, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

A state appeals court holds that New Jersey's drunken-driving statute is broad enough to include apartment parking garages among the areas within which breath-test refusals are illegal.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

July 23, 2010 | Law.com

A New Jersey judge on Wednesday ordered the president of a mortgage firm and one of its salespeople to pay $75,000 in punitive damages, and more in attorney fees, for leading a homeowner into unknowingly selling her house and losing $162,000 -- for their own benefit. The defendants "continuously concealed the character of their enterprise and the true nature of the transaction" and "preyed" on the homeowner's "weakened health condition and financial vulnerability," the judge said.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

November 09, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

The New Jersey Supreme Court has relaxed the standard losing municipal candidates must meet when challenging election results.

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read

May 24, 2011 | New Jersey Law Journal

A law firm sued over the false arrest of its librarian for allegedly pulling a fire alarm is now is fighting to quash a subpoena served on its own defense lawyer.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

December 05, 2005 | Law.com

A caution by the Food and Drug Administration about the potentially life-threatening effects of Johnson & Johnson's Ortho Evra contraceptive patch has fanned the flames of what could become nationwide litigation. Suits claim that patch users have suffered strokes, heart attacks and even death as a result of blood clotting caused by heightened estrogen levels. Web sites are publicizing the FDA directive and the litigation options available -- and federal suits are popping up around the country.

By Charles Toutant

7 minute read

October 17, 2005 | New Jersey Law Journal

Politically active lawyers who don't want to miss out on county and municipal government work will have to navigate the shoals of New Jersey's new law that puts limits on local "pay to play."

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

March 19, 2010 | Law.com

A New Jersey law firm stiffed on its fees by a corporate client can collect from the company's principals, a state appeals court held, overturning a ruling that absolved four stakeholders of liability for $116,000 owed to Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard. The four did not dispute that they benefited from the representation, but argued they shouldn't have to pay the bill because they never agreed to be responsible for it. But the court said they share in the company's liability under the doctrine of quantum meruit.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

November 21, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

A New Jersey appeals court last Monday cut short any prospect of a new wave of litigation against manufacturers of all-terrain vehicles based on alleged inadequacy of safety warnings.

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read

January 05, 2004 | New Jersey Law Journal

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has truncated a New Jersey doctrine that holds trucking companies liable for injuries during loading and unloading of their vehicles, even when another party was negligent.

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read