Roseland
The Roseland, New Jersey, office of Marshall Dennehey opened in February of 1993. Since that time, it has realized substantial growth in response to client demand for our professional services. Roseland is in Essex County, home to Newark, New Jersey's largest city, and is within 30 minutes of New York City. The office services the densely populated counties of the northern part of the state. The attorneys practicing in our Roseland office have easy access to all of the federal and state courts of Northern New Jersey, which counties include Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren.
Our Roseland office, like all of the firm's offices, provides the advantages of the personal attention of a small firm with the advantages that come from the intellectual property and broad-based experience of a large firm. The office is staffed by native and long-time residents of New Jersey who handle professional liability, product liability, employment, property and casualty, and workers' compensation defense litigation.
Thought Leadership
Case Law Alerts
New Jersey Judiciary Implements Trial de Novo Deadline Reminders After Arbitration Awards
July 21, 2026
As there are times where cases against real estate brokers and producers are subject to non-binding arbitration in New Jersey, one thing that maintains of high importance is the strict deadline for the filing of demand for a trial de novo in the instance that a party seeks that the arbitration award be vacated and the matter return to the trial calendar. In 2026, in the unreported decision of Arora Petroleum 2, LLC v. Avin Petroleum LLC, No. A-1706-24, 2026 WL 291226 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Feb. 4, 2026), the Appellate Division commented as to the new steps the judiciary now takes to ensure that a reminder is sent to parties before the deadline for the demand for a trial de novo expires. This Omnibus Rule Amendment Order & Supreme Court Action on Non-Rule Recommendations sets forth that, similar to discovery end date reminders, the judiciary now issues electronic reminders, through eCourts, to all parties seven days before the expiration of the thirty-day deadline imposed by Rule 4:21A-6(b)(1). This newly implemented reminder came after an amendment to Rule 4:21A-6 (which has since been rescinded), that allotted an additional ten days to a party who missed the thirty-day period to file the demand for trial de novo to file a motion to reject an arbitration award and demand a trial de novo as within time upon establishing good cause. This Omnibus Rule brings to light the importance of filing a timely demand for trial de novo in matters that are subject to arbitration in the Superior Court. The court is now taking an additional step to issue a reminder to parties about the deadline through eCourts, which should not be ignored or taken lightly.
Case Law Alerts
Closing the Loophole
July 21, 2026
On November 17, 2023, New York amended the Prompt Payment Act, establishing a 5% cap on retainage under section 765-c of the General Business Law. Specifically, this amendment limited any retainage withheld from a contractor or subcontractor on a private construction project to 5%. However, this amendment contained a significant gap: because the 5% limitation was not included among the void provisions enumerated in Section 757 of the General Business Law, owners and general contractors were able to circumvent the statutory cap through contractual provisions requiring higher retainage. Section 756-a of the General Business Law allowed the terms of a construction contract to supersede the Prompt Payment Act "except as otherwise provided" in the article. SB 5655, which went into immediate effect on December 19, 2025, closes this loophole by adding contract provisions that exceed 5% to be void and unenforceable under Section 757 of the General Business Law.
Results
No-Cause Jury Verdict Secured in Wrongful Death Trial
We successfully obtained a no-cause jury verdict in a 13-day wrongful death trial. The decedent, a 59-year-old man, was admitted to the emergency room on February 15, 2019, with complaints of abdominal pain, decreased appetite, and constipation, despite the use of laxatives. The patient did not complain of any nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. He had a significant medical history including diabetes, hypertension, prior coronary artery stenting, morbid obesity (with past gastric bypass surgery), longstanding ventral hernia, and back pain. A CT scan revealed multiple hernias and a potential closed-loop bowel obstruction, leading to a surgery consultation. Our client, an emergency general surgeon, interpreted that the patient did not have a closed loop or any significant obstruction and recommended non-surgical management. The patient was approved to have clear liquids, and had a vomiting incident shortly after, but our client was not notified. The patient was returned to NPO status, and after improving overnight, he was returned to “clears” and additional medical and renal consults were ordered. Our client did not receive any communications from the residents/nurses of any changes in the patient’s condition. On February 18, 2019, two rapid responses were called due to increased heart rate and vomiting. It is believed that the vomiting resulted in aspiration, causing sepsis, ultimately leading to the patient’s death. During the trial, the plaintiff’s sole medical expert highlighted imaging on the wrong hernia, which called into question all of his opinions in the case. We made key objections related to the expert testimony, limiting what the allegations were, and preventing new allegations from being made. After approximately two and a half hours of deliberating, the jury returned a no-cause verdict.
Unanimous Verdict Obtained in a Medical Malpractice Matter in Bergen County, New Jersey
