thumbnail image
Legal Services of Northwest Jersey
  • Home
  • About Us 
    • History
    • Board of Trustees
    • Meet Our Team
    • Impact Advocacy
    • Locations
    • Statement on Racial Justice
  • Our Services 
    • Practice Areas
    • Legal Projects
    • Volunteer
    • Referral Resources
    • COVID-19 Updates
    • FAQs
  • News 
    • Annual Reports
    • Newsletter
    • Media
    • Employment
  • Contact Us 
    • Hunterdon County
    • Morris County
    • Somerset County
    • Sussex County
    • Warren County
  • …  
    • Home
    • About Us 
      • History
      • Board of Trustees
      • Meet Our Team
      • Impact Advocacy
      • Locations
      • Statement on Racial Justice
    • Our Services 
      • Practice Areas
      • Legal Projects
      • Volunteer
      • Referral Resources
      • COVID-19 Updates
      • FAQs
    • News 
      • Annual Reports
      • Newsletter
      • Media
      • Employment
    • Contact Us 
      • Hunterdon County
      • Morris County
      • Somerset County
      • Sussex County
      • Warren County
    Español
    Legal Services of Northwest Jersey
    • Home
    • About Us 
      • History
      • Board of Trustees
      • Meet Our Team
      • Impact Advocacy
      • Locations
      • Statement on Racial Justice
    • Our Services 
      • Practice Areas
      • Legal Projects
      • Volunteer
      • Referral Resources
      • COVID-19 Updates
      • FAQs
    • News 
      • Annual Reports
      • Newsletter
      • Media
      • Employment
    • Contact Us 
      • Hunterdon County
      • Morris County
      • Somerset County
      • Sussex County
      • Warren County
    • …  
      • Home
      • About Us 
        • History
        • Board of Trustees
        • Meet Our Team
        • Impact Advocacy
        • Locations
        • Statement on Racial Justice
      • Our Services 
        • Practice Areas
        • Legal Projects
        • Volunteer
        • Referral Resources
        • COVID-19 Updates
        • FAQs
      • News 
        • Annual Reports
        • Newsletter
        • Media
        • Employment
      • Contact Us 
        • Hunterdon County
        • Morris County
        • Somerset County
        • Sussex County
        • Warren County
      Español
      • Home
      • About Us
        • History
        • Board of Trustees
        • Meet Our Team
        • Impact Advocacy
        • Locations
        • Statement on Racial Justice
      • Our Services
        • Practice Areas
        • Legal Projects
        • Volunteer
        • Referral Resources
        • COVID-19 Updates
        • FAQs
      • News
        • Annual Reports
        • Newsletter
        • Media
        • Employment
      • Contact Us
        • Hunterdon County
        • Morris County
        • Somerset County
        • Sussex County
        • Warren County
        • Impact Advocacy

          How one client’s case may change the law

        • We handle cases for clients. We strive to achieve the client’s goal in the case.

          Sometimes an individual client’s case can help many other people with a similar legal issue.

          When a judge decides a case and writes a published opinion, that case can be used by other judges to help in deciding cases with a similar issue.

          Sometimes a client’s case is appealed to a higher court, and the law is changed as a result.

          Current and former staff of LSNWJ and its founding organizations have argued in cases with published court opinions, which had an impact on the lives of many people in addition to our client litigant:

        • Cases

          Read more about some of our impact cases

          J.G. v. J.H. 457 N.J. Super. 365 (App. Div. 2019)

          Grace E. Kelly, Esq.

          The welfare of children is paramount whether the parents are married, divorced, or never married. A plenary hearing is necessary for contested custody matters where the parents make materially conflicting representations of fact, regardless of court rule designating a non-dissolution matter as a summary proceeding. Before hearing, the parties should participate in an alternate dispute resolution process, and each furnishes a proposed parenting plan when they cannot resolve custody. Discovery should be allowed, absent cogent reasons for the denial. Finally, an investigative report should be prepared by court staff. The judge needs this information to make a considered decision.

          Newton Med. Ctr. v. D.B., 452 N.J. Super. 615 (App. Div. 2018) 

          Richard A. Mastro, Esq.

          When a mental health patient is admitted to a hospital on an emergent basis through the referral of a PESS (Psychiatric Emergency Screening Service), the provisions of the Charity Care regulations dealing with emergency room admissions apply.

          Midland Funding LLC v. Thiel, 446 N.J. Super. 537, 542 (App. Div. 2016)   

          Richard A. Mastro, Esq.

          A four-year statute of limitations applies to claims arising from a retail customer's use of a store-issued credit card — or one issued by a financial institution on a store's behalf — when the use of which is restricted to making purchases from the issuing retailer. If an action is filed after the expiration of this four-year period, the FDCPA requires the award of statutory damages and costs.

          Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. v. Hunt, 364 N.J. Super. 587 (Law Div. 2003)

          Michael L. Wojcik, Esq., Essex-Newark Legal Services

        • T.K. v. Landmark W., 353 N.J. Super. 353 ( 2001)

          Ruben Laboy, Jr., Esq., Somerset Sussex Legal Services

          The landlord was required to enter into a lease agreement with the tenant, where the landlord’s refusal to do so was discriminatory, based on the tenant’s offer of Section 8 vouchers as rental payments.

          In the Matter of the Adoption of a Child by P.F.R. and V.A.I., 308 N.J. Super. 250 (App.Div.1998)

          Diane K. Smith, Esq.

          The court held that adoptive parents were not entitled to the statutory presumption of adoption because they failed to show that the biological father had forsaken his parental obligation after becoming aware of the child’s existence.

          Ganz v. Rust, 299 N.J. Super. 324 (App. Div. 1997)

          Victoria Reiners, Esq.

          Plaintiff’s application for a plenary hearing to determine whether New Jersey had jurisdiction to determine custody under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act and if so whether New Jersey should exercise its jurisdiction, ), should have been granted.

          Fromet Properties Inc. v. Buel, 294 N.J. Super. 601 (App. Div. 1996) 

          Jack Fitzgerald, Esq., Warren County Legal Services

          The court held that in a summary dispossess action, the burden to prove a rent increase is not unconscionable rests with the landlord. The court further ruled that, in considering whether a proposed rent increase is unconscionable, a court may consider i) the amount of proposed rent increase, ii) the landlord’s expenses and profitability, iii) how existing and proposed rents compare to those charged at similar rental properties in the area, iv) the relative bargaining power of the parties, and v) based on the judge’s general knowledge, whether the rent increase would “shock the conscience” of a reasonable person.

        • B.N. v. Department of Human Services, 287 N.J. Super. 270 (App. Div. 1996)

          Elizabeth Szabo, Esq. and Diane K. Smith, Esq.

          The court held that the DHS’s twelve-month limit on temporary rental assistance, which contained no fallback provision, was invalid, as it ran contrary to the legislature’s mandate of providing NJ citizens with adequate shelter.

          Hous. Auth. of Morristown v. Little, 135 N.J. 274 (1994)

          Gerald R. Brennan, Esq.

          The Supreme Court upheld trial court’s granting of defendant’s motion to vacate a judgment of possession on equitable grounds, pursuant to Rule 4:50-1.

          N.J. Div. of Youth and Family Servs. v. E.B., 264 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 1993) 

          Elizabeth Szabo, Esq.

          Appellate court ruled that the public defender’s office had to split the payment of the fee for a court-appointed expert witness with Legal Services in a protective services action initiated by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, but that Legal Services was required to pay its half because it did not make it clear at the outset that it would not be responsible for paying expert witness fees on behalf of its client. N.J. Div. of Youth and Family Servs. v. E.B. (In re R.J.B.), 137 N.J. 180 (1994)The Court held that the lower court had not abused its discretion in directing both the public defender and Legal Services to split the cost of the fee for a court-appointed expert witness in a protective services action instituted by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Service.

          In re Petition for Rulemaking, 117 N.J. 311 (1989)

          Diane K. Smith, Esq., Somerset-Sussex Legal Services, William F. Matrician, Esq., Legal Aid Society of Morris et al

          Department of Human Services was required to determine a standard of need for the state's welfare recipients.

        • Williams v. Department of Human Services, 228 N.J. Super. 529 (App. Div. 1988)

          Jane Herchenroder, Esq. Hunterdon County Legal Service Corp.

          The court invalidated a DHS regulation that terminated Emergency Assistance to the needy after five months because there were no mechanisms in place to provide adequate shelter for recipients after the end of the five-month period. (The court’s decision to invalidate the regulation was overturned by the New Jersey Supreme Court, the following year, in Williams v. Department of Human Services, 116 N.J. 102 (1989), wherein the Court held that the five-month termination regulation could remain valid, under the condition that concrete plans were developed to allocate resources to make reasonably certain that individuals whose emergency assistance was terminated by the regulation in question would be able to find adequate shelter and, eventually, housing.)

          RWB Newton Assocs. v. Gunn, 224 N.J. Super. 704 (App. Div. 1988) 

          Diane K. Smith, Esq.

          The appellate court reversed and remanded the trial court’s judgment of possession for the landlord, and dismissed the landlord’s complaint, where the landlord had not served the defendant tenant with proper notice to cease, and thus had not given her an opportunity to conform to the rules and regulations under the lease.

          Chobot v. Chobot, 224 N.J. Super. 648 (App. Div. 1988)

          Robin C. Kiel, Esq., Legal Aid Soc. of Morris County

          The appellate court held that the trial court erred in deducting appellant’s consumer credit debts from his income for the purposes of determining his child support obligations.

          Loyko v. Loyko, 200 N.J. Super. 152 (App. Div. 1985)

          Alberta T. Foster, Esq., Somerset-Sussex Legal Services

          A husband’s installment payments on a mortgage account were intended to constitute additional support for his four minor children, and thus were not dischargeable in bankruptcy.

        • Harden v. Pritzert, 178 N.J. Super. 237 (App. Div. 1981)

          Alan Strelzik, Esq., Somerset-Sussex Legal Services

          The appellate division upheld the lower court’s decision that the Anti-Eviction Act did not bar eviction of tenants on grounds of lease expiration, because the premises were a homestead farm and thus were not being rented solely for appellant’s residential purposes.

          Alford v. Somerset County Welfare Board, 158 N.J. Super. 302 (App. Div. 1978)

          Alberta T. Foster, Somerset-Sussex Legal Services

          The court held that a mother’s proof that her five children were receiving SSI benefits was insufficient to meet her burden of showing that her children were independent under NJ state welfare law, resulting in termination of Medicaid benefits.

          In re Geraghty, 68 N.J. 209 (1975)

          Amicus curiae, Somerset-Sussex Legal Services Michael Namias, Esq., Joseph Lipofsky, Esq.

          After the N.J. Court Rule governing civil commitment hearings had been revised to the Court’s satisfaction, and because the appellant in the original case was no longer under involuntary commitment, the Court held the appellant’s case to be moot and dismissed the matter.

        Legal Services of Northwest Jersey

        About Us

        History

         

        Board of Trustees

         

        Meet Our Team

         

        Impact Advocacy

         

        Locations

         

        Statement on Racial Justice

        Our Services

        Practice Areas

         

        Legal Projects

         

        Volunteer

         

        Referral Resources

         

        COVID-19 Updates

         

        FAQs

        News

        Annual Reports

         

        Newsletter

         

        Media

         

        Donate

         

         

        © Legal Services of Northwest Jersey, 2021

        Terms & Conditions
        Privacy Policy
          ×
          Terms & Conditions
          Terms of Use
          Effective Date:  5/4/2021
          
          Your Agreement
          By using this website, you agree to be legally bound by the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use and the terms and conditions of our Privacy Policy.  If you do not agree to any of these terms, then you are not permitted to use the website. 
          Updates to Terms without Notice
          We may update these Terms of Use at any time without notice to you. By accessing the website after we make any such changes to these Terms of Use, you are deemed to have accepted such changes. Regularly review the terms of use when you visit the website.  
          
          Your Conduct
          By using this website, you agree you will NOT:
          •	Disrupt, impair, alter or modify this website, or attempt to interfere with its proper operation;
          •	Attempt to collect any information of others;
          •	Transmit through this site any material that is unlawful or violates the rights of others, or otherwise engage in prohibited activity related to this website however indirectly;
          •	Engage in any screen scraping or data acquisition and consolidation;
          •	Impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity.
          
          Copyright and Your Use of Content
          Copyright © 2021, Legal Services of Northwest Jersey, Inc. This site, its content and all of the coding, graphics, text, software, images, videos, recordings, logos, marks and other materials required to render the site as it appears are intellectual property owned by us or licensed for our use by third parties. You may view the website content for your own personal, non-commercial use.  No other use is permitted without our prior consent.  We do not grant any license or right to use the trademarks, service marks, logos and other intellectual property on the website without our prior written permission.  All goodwill generated from the use of our marks inures to our benefit. 
          
          Copyright Agent
           LSNWJ’s Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on or regarding the website can be reached as follows:
          
          Copyright Agent
          Legal Services of Northwest Jersey
          90 East Main Street 
          Somerville NJ  08876
          Phone: 908-231-0840
          Email lsnwjmedia@gmail.com
          
          Limitation of Liability
          By using this website, you acknowledge that LSNWJ is not liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary or punitive damages arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of or inability to use the site, or in connection with any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus or line or system failure, even if LSNWJ, or representatives thereof, are advised of the possibility of or could have foreseen such damages, losses or expenses, and in the event of a failure of essential purpose, and regardless of the theory of legal liability, whether based in tort, negligence, contract, or other theory. In those states that do not allow this exclusion or limitation of liability for the foregoing excluded damages, LSNWJ’s liability is limited to the fullest extent permitted by law. In no event shall LSNJ’s cumulative liability to you, for the foregoing excluded damages and any direct damages, exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00).
          
          Indemnification
          You agree to indemnify and hold harmless LSNWJ from and against any and all losses, damages, settlements, liabilities, costs, charges, assessments and expenses, as well as third party claims and causes of action, including, without limitation, our attorneys’ fees arising out of any breach by you of any of the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use, or any use by you of the website or transmission by you through the website. Upon receipt of any third party claim, we shall have the right to assume the sole defense thereof, at your expense, by representatives chosen by us. You shall provide us with such assistance, without charge, as may be requested by us in connection with any such defense, including, without limitation, providing us with such information, documents, records and reasonable access to you, as we shall deem necessary. In no event shall you settle any third party claim or waive any defense without our prior written consent.
          Governing Law and Jurisdiction
          You agree that your use of this website, the Terms of Use, and any tort claims arising from your use of the website or the Terms of Use shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey applicable to contracts made entirely within and wholly performed in the State of New Jersey, without regard to conflicts of law principles.  You agree that the sole jurisdiction and venue shall be in the State of New Jersey, except that we may seek temporary injunctive relief in any venue of our choosing.
          Remedies, Waivers and Injunctions
          All remedies whatsoever available to us are cumulative and non-exclusive. No waiver or failure of LSNWJ to require performance in any instance shall act as a waiver or bar in any subsequent or other instance. LSNWJ shall not be required to post a bond or other security in order to obtain injunctive relief.
          Severability, Survival and Binding Effect
          If any portion of these Terms of Use is found invalid or unenforceable, all other portions are nonetheless valid and fully enforceable. These Terms of Use shall bind and inure to the benefit of your and our respective successors, assigns, heirs, executors, trustees and administrators.
          Entire Agreement
          These Terms of Use are the entire agreement between you and LSNWJ regarding your use of the website regardless of any other oral or written understandings and can only be amended by us in writing.
          ×
          Privacy Policy
          Privacy Policy 
          Effective Date: 5/4/2021
          
          This privacy notice discloses the privacy practices for this website http://lsnwj.org. This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website.  We will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information collected and/or provided through this website will only be used in ways that are in compliance with this Privacy Policy.
          Revisions to Privacy Policy
          We may occasionally modify this Privacy Policy and will post a notice of the effective date of the revised Privacy/Disclaimer Notice on this page. Your use of our website after the effective date of any modification means you accept and agree to be bound by the Privacy Policy as modified.
          Use of Your Information
          We will not collect any personal information from you unless you voluntarily choose to submit or otherwise disclose such information to us, including information submitted or disclosed by mail, telephone, fax, or electronically. We will not sell, trade, or rent your personally identifiable information to third parties. We will only use your information to respond to your request for information.
          
          Website Monitoring
          
          We have no obligation to monitor the website or the use of the website or to retain the content of any user session. However, we reserve the right at all times to monitor, review, retain, and/or disclose any information, including IP addresses, as necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or government request, or to cooperate with law enforcement and other authorities in investigation of a claim of illegal activity. We also may use IP addresses to identify a user when we feel it is necessary to protect our service, website, customers, or others.
          Children
          This website is not intended or designed to attract children under the age of thirteen (13).  We do not collect personal information from any person that we know to be under the age of thirteen. We encourage all parents to instruct their children in the safe and responsible use of their personal data while using the Internet.
          
          Cookies
          This site uses “cookies”, small text files that are placed on your machine to help the site provide a better user experience. This cookie does not collect information that personally identifies you. It only allows us to recognize your repeated visits to our website. The use of cookies helps when you return to a website because it remembers what pages you visited and offers suggestions to help you find what you need. If you want to disable cookies, a simple procedure in most internet browsers allows you to turn off cookies, but please remember that cookies may be required to allow you to use certain features of this website.
          
          Security
          As no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we cannot ensure the security of any information (including personal, confidential or privileged information) you transmit to us or any information provided online, and you do so at your own risk. We will not be liable for disclosures of your personal information due to errors in transmission or unauthorized acts of third parties. However, once we receive your transmission, we make reasonable efforts to protect the information. We cannot guarantee that documents or files downloaded from our website will be free from viruses and we do not accept any responsibility for any damage or loss caused by any virus. For your own protection, use virus-checking software when using our website.
          Links
          This website may contain links to other websites not maintained by us.  We are not responsible for the contents of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site. We do not control these other websites, and you should consult their privacy policies regarding their use of your information.
          
          Communications
          We reserve the right to contact you regarding this Privacy Policy, Terms of Use Agreement and other matters relevant to the operation of this website or any contact you have made with us through this website.  If you have any questions or comments regarding privacy and our use of information, please email lsnwj-media@lsnj.org
          Cookie Use
          We use cookies to ensure a smooth browsing experience. By continuing we assume you accept the use of cookies.
          Learn More