ARLENE KANDRAC, ET AL. VS. MARRAZZO'S MARKET AT ROBBINSVILLE, ET AL

ARLENE KANDRAC, ET AL. VS. MARRAZZO'S MARKET AT

ROBBINSVILLE, ET AL.

In this appeal from an order granting summary judgment, we

consider whether a commercial tenant in a multi-tenant shopping

center owes a duty to its patrons to maintain an area of the

parking lot that the landlord is contractually obligated to

maintain. We hold that, although the determination of a duty

remains a fact-sensitive issue, as a general rule, the

commercial tenant does not have such a duty. 11-05-12 

DAVID L. HAWK VS. NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, ET AL. A-2059-11T3

 DAVID L. HAWK VS. NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,

ET AL.

A-2059-11T3

A tenured professor at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)

brought an action in the General Equity Part seeking to enjoin

pending "detenure" proceedings against him, claiming deprivation

of procedural due process in the university's internal

investigation of his conduct. The action was dismissed for

failure to exhaust administrative remedies, and we affirmed.

The assertion of a constitutional claim is but one factor

to be considered in determining whether judicial intervention is

justified, and in order to be relieved of the exhaustion

requirement, that claim must be a colorable one and not

dependent on facts to be developed at the administrative

proceeding, or capable of being vindicated therein.

Here, plaintiff's constitutional claim does not rise to the

level to warrant interlocutory judicial interference. The full

panoply of procedural due process rights does not attend the

administrative investigative stage and the process actually

afforded plaintiff pre-hearing was more than adequate. 10-29-12

NEW JERSEY SCHOOLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY VS. JOSEPH MARCANTUONE, ET AL. A-1868-10T3

 NEW JERSEY SCHOOLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY VS. JOSEPH

MARCANTUONE, ET AL.

A-1868-10T3

Plaintiff New Jersey Schools Development Authority provided

the funding for the City of East Orange to acquire by

condemnation environmentally contaminated real property owned by

defendants Joseph Marcantuone and Robert Gieson. Pursuant to

Housing Authority of New Brunswick v. Suydam Investors, 177 N.J.

2 (2003), funds representing the estimated cost of remediation

of the land were held in escrow pending a final determination on

liability under the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control

Act, N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11 to -23.24.

Relying on our decision in White Oak Funding, Inc. v.

Winning, 341 N.J. Super. 294 (App. Div.), certif. denied, 170

N.J. 209 (2001), the trial court held defendants were not liable

as a matter of law for the cost of remediation because they were

not "in any way responsible" for the contamination. The court

also held that defendants were not the current owners of the

property at the time the contamination was discovered because

plaintiff had previously been vested with title as condemnor

under N.J.S.A. 20:3-19.

We reverse the trial court and hold that our decision in

White Oak was in part implicitly superseded by the 2001

amendments to the Spill Act creating the "innocent purchaser"

defense codified at N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11g(d)(5). We remand for

the court to determine whether defendants can establish, by a

preponderance of the evidence, the four elements of the

"innocent purchaser" defense. We also hold that in a postcondemnation

proceeding to determine Spill Act liability under

Suydam, defendants are deemed the "current owners" of the

property, notwithstanding N.J.S.A. 20:3-19. 10-29-12

A.D.P. VS. EXXONMOBIL RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMPANY A-4806-10T4

A.D.P. VS. EXXONMOBIL RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING COMPANY

A-4806-10T4

Plaintiff, a long-term employee, voluntarily disclosed to

her employer that she was an alcoholic and was going to an inpatient

rehabilitation program. At the time of her disclosure,

plaintiff's job performance was satisfactory and she was not the

subject of any pending or threatened employment or disciplinary

action. Upon her return, the employer required her to agree to

conditions, including total abstinence and random alcohol

testing for a minimum of two years, as a condition of

employment. These conditions were not imposed pursuant to a

"last chance agreement" but, rather, were required by

ExxonMobil's Alcohol and Drug Use Policy. Her employment was

terminated nearly one year later when a breathalyzer test

revealed alcohol use. She filed suit, alleging discrimination

based upon her disability and wrongful termination.

In this appeal, we consider whether summary judgment was

properly granted to the employer. Viewing the record with

favorable inferences drawn in favor of the plaintiff, the

imposition of these conditions and the termination of

plaintiff's employment pursuant to the employer's policy

constituted direct evidence of discrimination. As a result, the

burden of persuasion shifted to the employer, requiring it to

show that the employment actions taken would have occurred even

if it had not considered plaintiff's disability, see McDevitt v.

Bill Good Builders, Inc., 175 N.J. 519, 525 (2003), a burden it

failed to satisfy as a matter of law. We therefore conclude

that summary judgment dismissing plaintiff's disability

discrimination claim was inappropriate. 10-26-12 

FRANCIS NATHANIEL CLARK VS. DENISE LOCKWOOD CLARK A-1147-11T1

FRANCIS NATHANIEL CLARK VS. DENISE LOCKWOOD CLARK

A-1147-11T1

We reversed the trial court's award of alimony, holding

defendant's long-term scheme to embezzle more than $345,000 from

the joint marital business while serving as the business's

bookkeeper, led to plaintiff's fault-based claim for divorce,

caused more than a mere economic impact upon the marital assets,

and demonstrated the rare case of egregious fault justifying

consideration of whether defendant's marital misconduct obviated

an award of alimony. 10-19-12 

Valeria Headen v. Jersey City Board of Education (A- 17-11; 068598)

 Valeria Headen v. Jersey City Board of Education (A-

17-11; 068598)

The Civil Service Act’s paid vacation leave provisions

apply to career service, non-teaching staff employees

of school districts that have opted to be part of the

civil service system, including ten-month employees

such as Valeria Headen. Because the Act and its

implementing regulations establish a floor for the

amount of leave to be provided to such employees and a

collectively negotiated agreement provided Headen with

more than the minimum paid vacation leave to which she

was entitled under the Act, this matter was properly

dismissed. 11-15-12

In the Matter of The Parentage of a Child By T.J.S. and A.L.S., h/w (A-130-10; 067805)

In the Matter of The Parentage of a Child By T.J.S.

and A.L.S., h/w (A-130-10; 067805)

The judgment of the Appellate Division is affirmed by

an equally divided Court. Absent adoption, the Act

does not recognize an infertile wife as the legal

mother of her husband’s biological child born to a

gestational carrier. The Act does no violate the

right to equal protection under Article I, paragraph I

of the New Jersey Constitution because the

distinctions drawn between an infertile husband and an

infertile wife are grounded in actual reproductive and

biological differences, which the Legislature may

consider in defining alternative means of creating

parenthood. 10-24-12