2053 Woodbridge Avenue - Edison, NJ 08817

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

NJ LAWS NEWSLETTER E287 - November 19, 2008

NJ Laws Email Newsletter E287
Kenneth Vercammen, Attorney at Law

November 19, 2008


In This Issue
_______________
1. Search of duffel bag in home must comply with NJ Constitution (State v. Johnson).

2. Worksite Shortcuts Resulting in Electrocutions Lead to $8 Million Settlement.

3. Slip on Melted, Refrozen Snow Settled for $2.15 Million.

4. Drunk Driving (State v. Thulin).

5. Community Events.

6. New articles on NJLaws.com.

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1. Search of duffel bag in home must comply with NJ Constitution. State v. Johnson ___ NJ ___ (Decided February 26, 2008) A-81-06


Defendant has standing under state law to challenge the warrantless search of the duffel bag in the home in which he was present, and the fruits of the search are suppressed for failure to comply with the warrant requirements of Article I, Paragraph 7 of the New Jersey Constitution.


2. Worksite Shortcuts Resulting in Electrocutions Lead to $8 Million Settlement.


A construction site with inadequate control and safety procedures, mixed with a tree's collapse onto high-voltage lines, has led to a death, two severe injuries and an $8 million settlement in Essex County Superior Court. Plaintiffs allege that nearly everyone, from the property owner to the principal and sub-contractors to the power utility that maintained area vegetation, had failed to follow proper safety procedures in October 2001 when Nicolino Cifelli Sr. and his family owned landscaping company came to clear trees and other plants as part of the parking lot expansion at A&P corporate headquarters in Montvale. When a tree struck the power lines, Cifelli's son, Nicolino Jr., was electrocuted and killed, Cifelli and his co-worker Marco Cicchino were severely injured by the shock, and Cifelli's wife Lucille witnessed the death of her son and the crippling of her husband. The two suits, Cifelli v. Two Paragon Drive and Cicchino v. Roman Asphalt, were consolidated before Superior Court Judge Dennis F. Carey but were settled before trial through mediation with retired appellate Judge John E. Keefe Sr. Parties agreed to pay $6 million to the surviving Cifellis and $2 million to Cicchino.

Source NJ Lawyer Daily Briefing 11-7-08

3. Slip on Melted, Refrozen Snow Settled for $2.15 Million.

A cautionary settlement for the coming winter: A retail store and its snow removal contractor have agreed to pay a woman who fell on ice in their parking lot $2.15 million. She alleged that the two did not adequately monitor melting and re-freezing since the most recent removal. The subcontractor that performed the removal, Adamsville Construction, had evidently piled the snow into mounds on a traffic island in the lot; temperatures over the following week had remained above freezing until shortly before 43-year-old Deborah Peisel slipped and fell. The fall aggravated a prior spinal displacement or spondylolisthesis for which she had not required treatment for several years. Eventually Peisel underwent five surgeries, many for a bowel problem caused by her initial spinal surgery. She has sufficient lower back pain and gastric symptoms that have left her with restricted mobility, a limited diet and could reduce her work to part-time. Peisel v. Adamsville Construction et al. was to be tried before Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Mathias E. Rodriguez, but Adamsville was quickly dismissed from the suit, and the store and main contractor agreed to settle - for $1 million and $1.15 million respectively - on condition of anonymity.


Source NJ Lawyer Daily Briefing 11-13-08
4. Drunk Driving. State v. Thulin.(Appellate Division) A-1691-07T4, November 6, 2008. Not approved for publication (12 pages).


Conviction following a trial de novo for refusal to submit to a Breathalyzer test reversed; one of the six summonses issued to the defendant following a single-vehicle accident described the offense as "refusal to submit to blood" and cited the implied-consent statute, N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2; however, no summons was issued for failure to submit to a Breathalyzer test; relying on the State Trooper's testimony that he had read the "New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Standard Statement for Operators of a Motor Vehicle" to the defendant as required by N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2(e), the Law Division found the defendant guilty of violating N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a; however, the Appellate Division agreed with the defendant that his conviction had to be reversed because the failure to accurately state the charge against which he had to defend violated due process.

Source NJ Lawyer Daily Briefing 11-7-08
5. Community Events.



11/22 Manasquan Turkey Trot 5 mile Manasquan. 11am party at taverns after race.


11/24 NJ Bar Municipal Court Meeting.


11/28 Born to Run 5 mile Freehold Friday Free beer at Court Jester tavern 11am.


11/30 Navesink Challenge 15k and 5k, Middletown, NJ 732-542-6090 Quality JSRC event with Race Director Dave Z. Free food and discount beer at Outback.


12/17 Raritan Valley Road Runners RVRR Pub Crawl, New Brunswick.


12/20 VRR Holiday Party.


12/22 NJ Bar Municipal Court Meeting.

6. New articles on website.

http://www.njlaws.com/alphabetical_index.htm


Tractor Trailer Accident
Semi-Truck Accident
Sports Accident
Sport Accident
Baseball Accident
Basketball Accident
Soccer Accident
Football Accident
Lacrosse Accident
Tennis Accident
Field Hockey Accident
Illegal Explosives and Weapons
Illegal Knives
Illegal Knife
Jitney Accidents





Thank you for reading our newsletter! God Bless America USA #1

We have decided to try to double our subscriber list in 2008. Our hope is that every one of our current subscribers will sign up at least one friend as a new subscriber to the NJ Laws Newsletter. If you know someone who would also like to receive this email newsletter, please have them email us at newsletter@njlaws.com or click here.

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Our Law blogs:

NJ Criminal Law Blog - http://njcriminallaw.blogspot.com/

NJ Personal Injury & Civil Law Blog- http://njlawspersonalinjury.blogspot.com/

NJ Elder Law Blog -http://elder-law.blogspot.com/

We appreciate continued referrals. We want to take the time to extend to our friends and clients our sincere gratitude because it is good friends and clients that make our business grow. Client recommendation is a very important source of new clients to us. We are grateful for the recommendation of new clients. We will do our best to give all clients excellent care. We shall do our best to justify all recommendations.

"Celebrating more than 22 years of providing excellent service to clients 1985-2008" Former Prosecutor.

Free T- shirts and soda can holders available for all current and past clients. Please come into office.


Editor's Note and Disclaimer:

All materials Copyright 2008. You may pass along the information on the NJ Laws Newsletter and website, provided the name and address of the Law Office is included.

KENNETH VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PC

ATTORNEY AT LAW

2053 Woodbridge Ave.

Edison, NJ 08817

(Phone) 732-572-0500

(Fax) 732-572-0030

website: www.njlaws.com


Admitted to practice law in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, US Supreme Court and Federal District Court
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Tuesday, November 04, 2008

NJ Laws Email Newsletter E286 - November 4, 2008

NJ Laws Email Newsletter E286 
Kenneth Vercammen, Attorney at Law November 4, 2008 


In This Issue
_______________
1. Negligence in Road Repairs Leads to $31M Verdict.


2. Commercial Vehicle could be searched during routine safety inspection. State v. Hewitt 400 NJ Super. 376 (Law Div. 2008).


3. Where crime involved employer's car, no extreme hardship to avoid license suspension. State v. Carrero 399 NJ Super. 419 (Law Div. 2007).


4. PTI Rejection based on mental illness ok. State v. Hoffman 399 NJ Super. 207 (App. Div. 1999).


5. Fun Upcoming Running Race events.


6. Middlesex County Estate Planning Council - Speaker needed!

7. New Articles & Videos.


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NJLaws.Com LINKS
Main Website with 500 + articles and 1,000 + links 
(732) 572-0500 
Greetings Kenneth Vercammen, 

1. Negligence in Road Repairs Leads to $31M Verdict.


A Camden County jury has taken a dim view of that county's negligence in repairing a 130-foot stretch of roadway long recognized as dangerous and awarded $31.3 million to a young man who, four years ago at age 18, crashed into an unsafe guardrail there, lost a leg and may yet lose an arm. Nicolas M. Anderson was forced to swerve off the pavement on Raritan Avenue in Waterford Township to avoid a vehicle that had strayed into his lane, but because the pavement dropped six inches to the shoulder - four inches more than the acceptable limit - his car hurtled straight into a guardrail that the county had known for 20 years had an unsafe end piece. The guardrail beam severed Anderson's left leg; his right leg and left arm also were severely injured. At trial it was revealed the county did not have an inspection program for pavement edges and that its policy for replacing substandard guardrails was to wait until an accident occurred. Court officials speculated this award may be among the highest in a motor-vehicle accident case in state history. Anderson v. Camden County was tried before Superior Court Judge John A. Fratto. 


NJ Lawyer Daily Briefing 10-22-08

2. Commercial Vehicle could be searched during routine safety inspection. State v. Hewitt 400 NJ Super. 376 (Law Div. 2008).


The trooper's warrantless search of a commercial truck to confirm a suspected hidden compartment and identify its contents, made during a routine safety inspection, was a valid administrative search. 

Source: 192 N.J.L.J. 570. 
3. Where crime involved employer's car, no extreme hardship to avoid license suspension. State v. Carrero 399 NJ Super. 419 (Law Div. 2007). 

Loss of employment is not an "extreme hardship" entitling a defendant to relief from mandatory license suspension under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-16(a) where the loss is the result of his unauthorized, criminal use of his employer's vehicle. 

Source: 192 N.J.L.J. 134. 
4. PTI Rejection based on mental illness ok. State v. Hoffman 399 NJ Super. 207 (App. Div. 1999).


In this appeal, the court reversed an order admitting the defendant into a Pretrial Intervention program over the prosecutor's objection. The court concluded that the victims' status as police officers does not eviscerate N.J.S.A. 2C:43 12(e)(4), which requires prosecutors to consider "[t]he victim to forego prosecution."

5. Fun Upcoming Running Race events. Selected by Kenneth Vercammen.



If you are attending any of these races, please call or email Ken V. Often we car pool or met at these events. If you can run, you can volunteer, or walk the course.


11/16 Swamp Devil 5k Basking Ridge 1pm


11/22 Manasquan Turkey Trot 5 mile Manasquan 11am party at taverns after race


11/28 Born to Run 5 mile Freehold Friday Free beer at Court Jester tavern 11am


11/30 Navesink Challenge 15k and 5k, Middletown, NJ 732-542-6090 Quality JSRC event with Race director Dave Z. Free food and discount beer at Outback


12/7 Arthritis 5k Metuchen


12/13 Arthritis 5k Bar A Lake Como/ Belmar


12/14 USATF-NJ 10 MILE CHAMPIONSHIP, 11am Mercer County Park, West Windsor, 973-334-890 


12/14 Toys for Tots 5k Freehold 10am


Plus Nov 14 Opening night James Bond Movie Quantum of Solace


Does your company or group have a website that provides information on Elder Law, Estate Planning, Probate, or Financial Planning? We would be glad to add your website to our website's lists of helpful links.
Please E-mail us at: kenvnjlaws@verizon.net

6. Middlesex County Estate Planning Council - Speaker needed! 


In several counties in New Jersey, estate planning professionals have set up Councils whereby those assisting seniors and taxpayers with their estate planning could meet on a quarterly basis to share ideas. We want professionals from the field of law, accounting, life insurance, long term care insurance, banking and financial planning a forum in which to share ideas and network. We will share ideas on providing advice, new laws, networking and marketing. Senior Citizen Coordinators and anyone who provides advice to seniors and the Elderly should also attend. We need a speaker for our Winter and Spring meetings. This will give the speaker the opportunity to network and gain new contacts. Would you like to learn techniques to improve and increase your estate planning business or better serve your clients? If interested, contact Kenneth Vercammen 732-572-0500. We will have an educational and interesting roundtable discussion which will focus on helping seniors and improving your business. We will also share ideas and discuss recent changes in the law. If interested, contact Kenneth Vercammen.


Speaker Duties: 


1. Mail flyer to all professionals and companies using labels provided [Approx. 600 professionals].

2. Call at least 200 people to invite and request e-mail addresses. [Ken V will provide confidential phone list, to be returned after program].


3. Send to local media, in newspaper and cable TV. [Ken V to provide labels].


4. Assist with other publicity, such as sending flyers to their own contacts.


5. Prepare 15-20 minute presentation.


6. Provide return address envelopes to Ken V so elder law database can be revised.


7. Provide any email addresses obtained to Ken V 8. We recommend speaker do as much publicity as possible since this is their opportunity to market themselves


Ken Vercammen will provide:

1. Labels of approx. 600 financial planners, accountants, attorneys, senior citizen coordinators and other professionals.


2. Prepare a draft of flyer for speaker to revise.


3. Make Final draft of flyer for speaker to photocopy: Speaker permitted to print their own info or bio on back of meeting notice.

4. If requested Ken V can provide 600 envelopes for mailing, otherwise you use your own envelopes.


5. Ken V will organize meeting room at meetings at a restaurant in Edison area.


6. Provide Certificate of Appreciation for speaker. 
7. New Articles & Videos.



Please check out our first videos on YouTube and our new articles. 


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