Charles Toutant

March 31, 2011 | New Jersey Law Journal

A federal appeals panel affirms dismissal of a suit by former Superior Court Judge Patricia Talbert, who claimed race and gender biases were at the heart of her assignment to inferior positions and ultimately led to her descension from the bench.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

January 31, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

A law firm that regularly brings summary dispossess actions against tenants for unpaid rent is a "debt collector" under the federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.

By Charles Toutant

6 minute read

July 08, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

A suit filed in federal court in Camden charges that Campbell Soup Co. routinely passes over black employees in favor of less-qualified whites when promoting account executives.

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read

March 24, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

A federal judge in Trenton has dismissed a New York Jets fan's putative class-action suit over the New England Patriots' secret videotaping of rival coaches' signals, holding that tickets carry no guarantee that teams will abide by National Football League rules.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

October 12, 2010 | Law.com

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage has agreed to pay New Jersey $3.98 million and 900 residents $67 million in loan modifications over claims subsidiaries deceptively marketed adjustable-rate mortgages. The agreement ends a state investigation into whether "Pick-a-Payment" mortgages violated the Consumer Fraud Act by touting their low monthly payment options without warning borrowers that the minimum payment option often failed to cover the interest on the loan, resulting in an increase in the loan's principal balance.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

July 29, 2008 | New Jersey Law Journal

An Essex County judge should have known better than to invoke his summary contempt power to jail a recalcitrant witness whose testimony wasn't needed to keep the trial on track.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

June 21, 2010 | New Jersey Law Journal

It's rare indeed that a district ethics committee recommends a sanction and the Disciplinary Review Board disagrees, but it happened June 18 in the case of a Rockaway solo accused of dragging his feet in an estate case and then refusing to cooperate with substituted counsel.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

March 19, 2010 | Corporate Counsel

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

August 26, 2002 | Connecticut Law Tribune

One Ivy League university accuses another of cyberfraud and identity theft, and among the confidential records intercepted are those of the U.S. president`s fashion-model niece.

By CHARLES TOUTANT Tech Tribune Contributing Writer

6 minute read

December 22, 2006 | The Legal Intelligencer

When a client hesitated over paying his bill, Richard Ledingham threatened her with criminal prosecution for theft of services and he didn't stop there: He also warned that she might lose her business, her home and her professional license.

By Charles Toutant ALM

5 minute read