* We are pleased to announce that the Town of Guttenberg appointed our firm as Special Counsel effective May 23, 2005.

* On June 30, 2005, Thomas Kobin was reappointed Board Attorney for the East Rutherford Board of Education. Tom was originally appointed to the position in December 2004, in place of our former partner Peter F. Bariso, Jr., who was appointed Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey.

* Michael D'Anton, Ph.D., an attorney with our firm and a licensed psychologist, taught the Forensic Psychology course at the College of Saint Elizabeth during their first summer session. He will also teach a class entitled Legal Policy & Regulatory Issues in the Saint Elizabeth Graduate Health Management Program this fall.

* Ralph Lamparello has been reappointed to the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation for the 2005 - 2006 term. The law related educational programs provided by the Foundation are exemplary and annually reach thousands of New Jerseyans from senior citizens to elementary school students. Of the 23 legal and lay members of the Board of Trustees, Ralph is the only representative from the County of Hudson.

* The Office of Attorney Ethics of the Supreme Court of New Jersey appointed Mitzy Galis-Menendez to the Hudson County Ethics Committee for a four-year term commencing September 1, 2005. During their term, the attorney members investigate and prosecute complaints of unethical conduct against attorneys who practice in the vicinage. In addition, attorney members sit on hearing panels to adjudicate the charges of unethical conduct.

* John Shahdanian II was a speaker at a recent seminar presented to attorneys by the Hudson Inn of Court on the appropriate handling of the initial complaint in an employment case. John handles employment and labor matters for the firm's private and public entity clients.

* Ralph Lamparello appeared on Court TV on May 26, 2005, on the program Open Court, hosted by Fred Graham. Ralph provided analysis and commentary on the FL v. Cloyd and Hughes case, which dealt with the felony trial of two America West Airline pilots who were indicted for operating an aircraft (carrying 187 passengers) while intoxicated. Ralph also appeared on Court TV on June 30, 2005, on the program Both Sides, as a guest analyst during the sentencing of 16-year old Sarah Johnson, who was convicted of murdering her parents in Idaho v. Johnson. Ralph had previously provided live commentary on the program during Johnson's trial.

* John Shahdanian II was selected to be a member of the Program Committee for the Sidney Reitman Inn of Court, the first American Inn of Court devoted exclusively to Labor and Employment Law advocacy. The only one of its kind, the Inn brings together lawyers in private practice, those representing state and federal government and labor unions, and representatives of the agencies charged with enforcing the substantive law that is the Inn's focus. The Inn concentrates on all aspects of labor and employment law from the perspectives of management, plaintiffs, unions and governmental agencies.

* APPELLATE DIVISION EXPANDS DISCOVERY IN SPECIAL CIVIL PART. In a personal injury action featured in the May 2, 2005 Case Digests section of the New Jersey Law Journal, Cindy Nan Vogelman successfully argued before the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, that defendants in civil cases in the Special Civil Part are entitled to discovery from plaintiffs. The Appellate Division's decision reverses an earlier decision by the trial court denying the defendant in Kellam v. Feliciano the opportunity to depose or have an independent medical examination ("IME") of the plaintiff performed. Citing principles of fundamental fairness in its ruling, the Appellate Division instructed the trial court to order the plaintiff to answer Form A Interrogatories, submit to an IME, or be deposed. Cindy prepared the appellate brief with Nicole Chhabria.

* On May 11, 2005, the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiff's civil rights Complaint against the City of Jersey City and the City of Jersey City Police Department in JoAnne Rivers v. City of Jersey City, et al. Members of the Police Department's Narcotics Unit were alleged to have violated plaintiff's constitutional rights when they arrested her on weapons and narcotics charges. John Shahdanian II and Michael Oppici prepared the briefs and argued the respective Motions before the trial, Appellate and Supreme Courts. The Supreme Court later denied plaintiff's Petition for Certification.

* Thomas Kobin successfully defended the Union City Board of Education against a discrimination claim filed by a former employee in United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. After extensive discovery, Tom obtained summary judgment before trial, which resulted in the dismissal of the case in its entirety. In its decision, the District Court found that the Board of Education did not discriminate against the employee.

* John Mallon represented Allstate Insurance Company during a three day trial in Passaic County that concluded on May 12, 2005. The plaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action against Allstate seeking coverage under his homeowner policy for a physical altercation. John successfully argued that coverage was barred under the intentional acts exclusion of the policy.

* Michael D'Anton obtained a judgment in the amount of $191,102.05 on behalf of the County of Hudson, where the defendant failed to complete construction of the Hudson County Parks Administration and Recreation Building at Lincoln Park.

* John Lago obtained a unanimous verdict in Celi v. Perez in favor of the defendant following a three-day trial in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County. Even though the plaintiff alleged numerous back injuries following a car accident, the jury deliberated for a mere 11 minutes before returning its verdict. This quick result is even more stunning, given the recent decisions in Serrano v. Serrano and DiProspero v. Penn in which the New Jersey Supreme Court redefined the Limitation on Lawsuit Threshold applicable to auto accident cases. The rulings made it easier for a plaintiffs to meet the burdens of proving damages as they now only have to demonstrate the permanency of their injuries, and no longer need to show their injuries resulted in a serious impact on life.

* Mitzy Galiz-Menendez filed and successfully argued a motion to dismiss a complaint filed with the School Ethics Commission against the Union City Board of Education and its members. The Board and its members prevailed as a result of Mitzy's demonstration to the Commission that the petitioner failed to prove that any ethics violations had occurred.

* The New Jersey Supreme Court recently denied the plaintiff's Petition for Certification in the matter of David Eisenhauer v. Township of North Bergen, et al. This matter involved a former North Bergen Police Sergeant who was terminated for his failure to advise the North Bergen Police Department that he was engaging in outside employment as an investigator for various law firms. Plaintiff claimed that he was terminated in violation of public policy; however, his claims were dismissed by the trial court on summary judgment. The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the trial court's ruling in November of 2004, and plaintiff filed his Petition for Certification to the New Jersey Supreme Court. John Shahdanian II represented the Township.

* Robert Cappuzzo prevailed in the defense of two Personal Injury Protection (PIP) cases, which were submitted for arbitration before the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). In the first case, the claimant underwent a controversial procedure called a Manipulation Under Anesthesia (MUA), and sought the reimbursement of medical bills totaling more than $32,000. Relying upon the expert testimony of a chiropractor, Rob persuaded the arbitrator that the MUAs were not medically necessary, and the arbitrator denied all claims. In the second matter, Rob again utilized a chiropractor's expert testimony, as well as a peer review prepared by an orthopedic surgeon, to rebut the medical necessity of treating two claimants with MUAs. The NAF arbitrator found that the MUAs were unnecessary, and denied more than $38,000 in MUA and MUA-related charges. The firm's clients were NJM and Allstate, respectively.

* Walter Schneider successfully defended an Allstate insured driver in a four day jury trial in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen County. Although the parties stipulated as to liability, damages and their magnitude was contested. Walt argued that the plaintiff's injuries were degenerative and not traumatic in nature, and that the treatments given to the plaintiff were unnecessary. The jury unanimously decided that the plaintiff did not prove that the defendant's negligence was a proximate cause of the alleged injuries.

* Thomas Kobin successfully defended the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue, on appeal against civil rights and political retaliation claims filed by firefighters who were not promoted by the department. The case was initially dismissed before trial by way of summary judgement. The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, upheld the dismissal, finding that the plaintiffs could not establish that they were not promoted for political reasons.

* In a four day jury trial in the Hudson County Superior Court, Walter Schneider represented a New Jersey Manufacturers insured, defending claims that our client caused the plaintiff injuries that hampered his ability to walk and attend to his regular, pre-accident activities. The case was complicated by the fact that the plaintiff underwent a hip replacement surgery after the accident. Although the plaintiff claimed that the surgery and difficulty walking resulted from the accident, Walt argued that the plaintiff could not support his claim, as medical records showed otherwise. The jury unanimously decided that the plaintiff did not prove the defendant's negligence was a proximate cause of a permanent injury.