New Jersey Lawyer & Attorney : Stark & Stark Law Firm : New Jersey Law Blog

Barbara Strapp Nelson, Shareholder and member of Stark & Stark's Real Estate Group, authored the article "When Is a Real Estate Contract Binding?" published on June 12, 2013 in U.S.1.

The article discusses when a signed contract is not a binding contract in New Jersey.  M. Nelson talks about the "Attorney Review Period," which delays contracts from being binding until three days after the contract is signed.  This review period commences with the day following delivery of the fully signed contract to the buyer and seller, not including weekends or legal holidays.

Ms. Nelson explains, "The three-day attorney review period also applies to realtor-prepared amendments that materially modify a contract subject to the review period."

To read the full article, click here.

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Scott I. Unger, Shareholder in Stark & Stark’s Litigation and Shareholder & Partner Disputes Groups, authored the article, “What is Minority Oppression?” published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on June 5^th, 2013.

The article discusses the real meaning behind minority oppression and how companies go about trying to terminate shareholders who have the smallest amount of share in the company.  Mr. Unger discusses the techniques involved during termination of the minority shareholder's employment, excessive compensation and withholding distributions.  Additionally, Mr. Unger describes the different obstacles that a minority shareholder may face when challenging the majority's failure to issue dividends.  

To read the full article, click here.

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Stark & Stark attorney Brittney S. Blakeney in the firm's Employment Group authored the article “Social Media Policies: Gift or Curse," published on June 3, 2013 in the New Jersey Law Journal.

Ms. Blakeney touched upon the issues of employees and the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.  In her article, she talks about how employers push for a potential employee’s passwords and usernames to gain access to their accounts before hiring them.  Ms. Blakeney said, “However, employers’ use of social media policies as a tool in hiring and firing has come under strict scrutiny after raising several public policy concerns.”

To read the full article, click here.

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Stark & Stark Shareholder Craig S. Hilliard authored the article "What To Do When Your Case Is 'Removed' to Federal Court," published in the New Jersey Law Journal on May 27, 2013.

The article discusses the steps necessary to take following the removal of a case to a federal district court.  Mr. Hilliard addresses the following questions:

• Does the federal district court have jurisdiction?
• What about motions or other applications which were pending in the Superior Court at the time of removal?
• What if a defendant has not been served at the time of removal?
• When must the defendant respond to the complaint?
• When must the demand for a jury be made?
• Do the Superior Court's orders issued before removal continue in effect after removal?
• Can the plaintiff recover fees and costs if a defendant filed an improper removal petition?

Mr. Hilliard explains, "The need for a prompt and accurate assessment of options following the filing of a removal petition should be apparent. There is no real shortcut around a review of the removal statutes, to determine initially if the district court has jurisdiction. Even if that determination does not lead to a remand to Superior Court, it is equally important for even veteran state court litigators to examine and understand the significant, and sometimes subtle, differences between state and federal practice, to effectively represent a client in the district court."

To read the full article, click here.

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Stark & Stark Shareholder Steven L. Friedman, Shareholder and Chair of the Trusts & Estates Group, was featured in the article "Before closing up shop, Lautenberg campaign committee has a debt to pay," published by the Sunlight Foundation on June 6, 2013.

The article discusses the recent passing of New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg, who died Monday, June 3, 2013 at age 89, and left behind a campaign committee with nearly $1.1 million in debt.  The Lautenberg for Senate committee's debts must be settled before the committee closes, and because the debt was caused by loans made by Lautenberg himself, the right to collect the campaign debt would now fall to his estate.  

Mr. Friedman, who was interviewed for the article, stated that Mr. Lautenberg's beneficiaries have the right to decide whether to forgive the debt if the senator did not specify in his will whether the loans should be turned into contributions, which Mr. Friedman believes is likely the case.

To read the full article, click here.

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New Jersey ICSC Government Relations Committee held its “Trenton Day” at the New Jersey State Capitol. Attending this program were Stark & Stark Shareholders Thomas S. Onder and Jerry A. Nelson of the firm's Commercial Real Estate Group. Tom, Jerry and the other members of Committee in attendance were provided the unique opportunity to meet with state legislators and their staff to discuss key issues impacting retail real estate ownership and development in New Jersey.  Specifically, topics discussed included extension of the COAH Moratorium for commercial developers, Economic Opportunity Act of 2013, and storm water issues in light of Hurricane Sandy.

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Stark & Stark Shareholder Maria P. Imbalzano, member of the firm's Divorce Group, authored the article, "The Importance of a Savings Component in Alimony," published in U.S.1 on May 29, 2013.

The article discusses the importance of saving money after parties are no longer sharing expenses.  The standard of living established during marriage is one of the major factors used to determine any award of alimony.  Ms. Imbalzano explains, "If the recipient of alimony is a homemaker, or earns substantially less than the breadwinner of the family, he or she will need to factor in a savings component to their current budget so as to approximate the lifestyle during the marriage."

Ms. Imbalzano goes on to explain that "the facts of each case will help determine the needs of the recipient spouse for support and the ability of the payor spouse to pay alimony."

To read the full article, click here.

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Stark & Stark Shareholders Rachel Lilienthal Stark and Adam J. Siegelheim have each been selected as Franchise Times Legal Eagles.  The annual list of Legal Eagles identifies the best attorneys, as designated by their clients and peers, from all over the United States and Canada.  

This year, over 775 nominations were submitted, and 154 were selected as Legal Eagles.  Ms. Stark is a Shareholder in Stark & Stark's Business & Corporate Group.  Mr. Siegelheim is a Shareholder and member of Stark & Stark's  Business & Corporate and Franchise Groups.

For more information on the 2013 Franchise Times Legal Eagles, click here.

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Stark & Stark Shareholder Thomas S. Onder will be a panelist for the seminar "Family & Bankruptcy: Dinner CLE Seminar" held by the Mercer County Bar Association on Thursday, June 20, 2013.  The seminar, being held at Rho Restaurant in Trenton, New Jersey will be held from 5:30-8:30pm, and attendees can earn up to 2.0 New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York CLE credits.

Mr. Onder will be joined by Hon. Catherine M. Fitzpatrick, P.J.Fm. and Tentatively Selected Bankruptcy Judge Christine M. Gravelle, Esq., as well as fellow panelists Jennifer Zoschak, Esq. of Teich Groh and Rebecca Esmi, Esq. of the Esmi Law Firm.  The seminar will discuss:

• The Effect of a Bankruptcy Filing on Equitable Distribution
• How Alimony, Child and Other Support Obligations are Treated in a Bankruptcy Proceeding
• When and Where Relief from the Bankruptcy Code's Automatic Stay is Needed
• Interplay of Bankruptcy and Family Proceedings on Assets, including IRA, Pension, 401k and Other Assets
• Getting Paid Your Attorneys' Fees in a Bankruptcy Proceeding

For more information, click here. 

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Brian A. Carlis, Shareholder and member of Stark & Stark’s Securities Arbitration Group, was featured in the article, “Few RIAs Accept Finra Invitation,” published in the Wall Street Journal on May 29, 2013.

The article discusses the meager RIA response to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“Finra”) expanding its arbitration forum to include registered investment advisors.  Traditionally the Finra arbitration process was used solely by broker-dealers.  This attempt to take over the role of overseer from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would mean lower arbitration fees for brokerages who would otherwise turn to the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) to resolve issues with customers or employees. 

Mr. Carlis, who represents RIAs in securities arbitration proceedings, explains that the higher AAA fees deter investors with small financial claims who are seeking a quick or cheap settlement.  However, Finra is better equipped to handle securities disputes and ultimately clients would save money in the long run, even if it meant having to amend pre-dispute agreements in their contracts with clients to reflect this change in plan.

Mr. Carlis believes that many RIAs are reluctant to commit to Finra’s system until they see how others fare in the program.  He said that as the first few cases are handled by Finra, he expects the number of RIAs who switch over to Finra to grow.  Mr. Carlis “routinely discusses the pros and cons of both forums with his RIA clients, who might have to foot a hefty bill for an AAA hearing.”

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