News & Events

On December 17, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to lift the stay imposed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). The U.S. Department of Labor then issued a press release which stated that OSHA will not issue citations for non-compliance with any requirements of the ETS before January 10 and will not issue citations for ...

In The Legal Intelligencer article, ‘Battle Tested’: Firm Leaders Optimistic About 2021 Revenues, Despite Looming Turbulence, Mitchell Kaplan provides insight into firm success as we continue to navigate the pandemic environment. According to Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer & Toddy managing director Mitchell Kaplan, business leaders appear optimistic that they will be exceeding pre-pandemic levels of ...

In what is believed to be the first New Jersey decision addressing a commercial tenant’s continued obligation to pay rent despite the temporary closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Kierstin Lange recently convinced Judge Sherri Schweitzer of the Superior Court of New Jersey-Camden County to reject the common law avoidance defenses asserted by the tenant, Mattress Firm, and enforce the lease as written. Since the ...

Less than one week after defeating the arguments of a New Jersey commercial tenant that the COVID-19 pandemic frustrated the purpose of its lease and rendered performance impossible, Tony Twardowski and Kierstin Lange convinced Judge Curtis Joyner of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to reject identical arguments raised by global retailer, Cole Haan, to excuse its payment of rent under a long-term commercial lease for ...

Near the end of March 2020, when the world went into hiding, litigators in New Jersey, and presumably throughout the country, were faced with several questions as to how their practice was going to be affected by the Coronavirus.  I recall my last in-court hearing taking place before a Judge who anticipated it could be another year before she and I were back in the building.  When you handle dozens of cases at one ...