After their father’s death, one of the decedent’s sons filed litigation against his siblings in their capacities as co-executors of the estate. The plaintiff did not challenge the validity of the will; he sought to compel an accounting of the estate.           In response to plaintiff’s lawsuit,.. read more →

The New Jersey Appellate Division declared a nursing home’s arbitration agreement to be void based upon the agreement’s “dense and meandering first sentence” of more than 200 words, among other problematic features. Estate of Bright v. Aristacare at Cherry Hill. Maureen Bright was discharged from the hospital to Aristacare after undergoing a second leg amputation. Maureen.. read more →

The patient was age 53 when he was transferred to Kindred Hospital. He had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and bipolar disorder in his twenties. When he signed the arbitration agreement in issue, he had required 24-hour nursing care for the previous 13 years, although he was not cognitively impaired at the time of the.. read more →

Kindred v. Clark involves two Kentucky cases, in which family members of deceased Kindred nursing home residents, Joe Wellner and Olive Clark, filed lawsuits against Kindred. They alleged that Kindred’s substandard care led to the deaths of the decedents. In response, the nursing home moved to dismiss the cases, claiming that arbitration agreements barred the.. read more →

James Patterson entered Care One at Moorestown on September 3, 2014. He had various serious health conditions. Approximately 2 months after he entered Care One, during which period he was hospitalized four times, he died. Plaintiff, the administrator ad prosequendum of Mr. Patterson’s estate, sued Care One, alleging that its negligence and/or recklessness had caused.. read more →

In an August 29, 2013 unpublished decision, the Appellate Division considered and affirmed the trial court’s denial of a nursing home’s motion to dismiss a personal injury and wrongful death claim brought by the estate of a former resident. Levonas v. Regency Heritage Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (Docket No. A-4995-11T4, Aug. 29, 2013). In Levonas, the.. read more →

In its January 27, 2012 decision in  CTC Demolition Company, Inc. v. GMH AETC Management/Development LLC, which has been approved for publication, the Appellate Division considered the novel issue of whether a party’s demand for mediation or arbitration triggers the “first to file” rule. Notably, the court had found only one decision in any jurisdiction.. read more →

In the January 4, 2012 Marinaccio v. Grgec decision, the Appellate Division was presented with an appeal of a probate matter that had been decided by an umpire under the New Jersey Alternate Procedure for Dispute Resolution Act (“APDRA”). The Appellate Division held that, after the umpire’s decision not to vacate a probate settlement agreement.. read more →

In an August 10, 2010 opinion that was approved for publication, the New Jersey Appellate Division addressed the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) and its impact on New Jersey’s Nursing Home Responsibilities and Rights of Residents Act (“Residents’ Rights Act”). Estate of Ruszala v. Brookdale Living Communities, Inc., No. A-4403-08T1 (N.J. Super. App. Div. Aug. 10,.. read more →