Publications

Divorce litigants often hear judges and their attorneys recite the importance of "maintaining the status quo" during the pendency of the litigation. N.J.S.A. 2A:34–23 imparts the court with the statutory authority to provide pendente lite relief in the form of support in matrimonial actions, which is well established in practice and precedent.… Read more

The Trentonian published an editorial on January 15, 2019, calling for Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora's administration to be more transparent. The editorial discusses a lawsuit filed on the newspaper's behalf by CJ Griffin, a Partner at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden and Editor of the NJ OPRA Blog.… Read more

In 1965, Ralph Nader's "Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile" was published, raising the public's conscientiousness of the auto industry's disregard for safety in favor of profits. The book's title was purposefully provocative, and its hyperbole was effective in grabbing the public's attention. But in the world of toxic torts, "unsafe at any level" is insufficient to establish a prima facie case of liability in most jurisdictions in the United States. See, e.g., Lawrence G. Cetrulo, Toxic Tort Litigation Guide Appendix 33-A, Court Decisions re: "Single Fiber Theory" (November 2018).… Read more

In September 2018, we filed a lawsuit on behalf of long-time client Steven Wronko seeking the list of users that Carteret Mayor Daniel J. Reiman has banned from his Facebook page.… Read more

Many people want to know how they can monitor an agency's spending and determine how much an agency is paying a certain vendor (such as a law firm, plumber, construction company, or insurance company) or even who the agency's vendors are. A "Vendor Activity Report" (or "Vendor History Report") is a very helpful tool for learning this information.… Read more

Happy New Year! 2018 was a very busy year for the OPRA team at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden.… Read more

Family business owners face unique challenges when planning for death and disability. The stability of the business—that often times was built from nothing—relies heavily on the family business owner's contribution to the business. Unlike an intangible asset (such as a bank account), the family business may have an intrinsic value based on the owner's actual participation in the operations.… Read more

After months of delays, three bills are finally scheduled for hearings before the Senate and the Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee. On November 26, 2018, the Senate and Assembly committees will consider the bill introduced by Senators Scutari and Sweeney, S2703, to legalize adult use marijuana; and bills to revise medical marijuana laws introduced by Senators Vitale, Scutari and O'Scanlan, S10 and S2426. Identical companion bills have been introduced in the assembly as well.… Read more

While nobody should ever drink and drive, there are no shortage of theories and other bizarre methods that have been used – or rather, attempted to be used – to "beat" a police breath test. In fact, a variety of these methods were featured in an episode of Discovery Channel's Mythbusters; none were deemed effective. Turns out, however, that beating a breath test in order to avoid a DWI conviction may not be necessary when the State fails to properly calibrate its testing devices… Read more