News

Seth Rosenstein Recognized in 2024 Edition of New York Super Lawyers

Ansell Grimm October 24, 2024

Ansell.Law is pleased to announce that Seth M. Rosenstein has been named in the 2024 edition of New York Metro Super Lawyers. Recognized for his work in business litigation, Rosenstein is named among New York’s Rising Stars.*

Rosenstein is a partner in the Litigation, Controlled Substances and Regulatory Law, and Residential Real Estate departments. Licensed in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, he represents clients in commercial and civil disputes in state and federal courts, as well as before the American Arbitration Association and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panels. Rosenstein has handled all aspects of securities class action litigation before state and federal courts throughout the United States and serves as a FINRA Dispute Resolution Services Arbitrator. He also regularly handles residential real estate transactions in New Jersey and New York.

Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” are the legal profession’s up-and-coming attorneys, either under age 40 or practicing for ten years or less. These exceptional attorneys comprise fewer than 2.5% of New York lawyers.

*No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey or the American Bar Association.

Melanie Scroble Wins Blue Water Wave Award for Legal Professional of the Year

Ansell Grimm October 16, 2024

Ansell.Law is thrilled to announce that Shareholder Melanie J. Scroble was named Blue Water Wave’s Legal Professional of the Year. Blue Water Wave is an organization focused on peer-to-peer exclusive networking groups for legal and commercial real estate professionals.

Melanie’s award highlights character, excellence, and superior client relations. Clients described her as “a dealmaker who gets things done,” an “outstanding lawyer,” and “bright, loyal, upstanding, respected, and the very best at what she does.” Clients additionally praise her for having the “attitude of a consummate professional” and providing “innovative solutions to industry problems.”

A leader within the Firm, Melanie serves as the on-site managing shareholder of Ansell.Law’s Woodland Park office. She is a member of the Commercial Real Estate, Corporate, Finance & Banking, and Residential Real Estate departments. Throughout her career, Melanie has amassed an impressive track record and has become a trusted advisor for clients nationwide.

Specializing in complex commercial real estate matters, Melanie has successfully closed numerous real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, and financing of various commercial properties nationwide. Her expertise lies primarily in shopping centers, retail pads, multi-family apartment buildings, 1031 exchange transactions, and commercial financing and lending. Whether working with national REITs or first-time investors, Melanie is adept at building lasting relationships with her diverse client base. In addition to her practice, she is actively involved with the International Council of Shopping Centers and has been a roundtable speaker at their annual Law Conference.

As the cannabis industry has grown in New Jersey, Melanie has also developed niche experience navigating the challenges surrounding retail leasing matters. She is a valued member of the Firm’s Controlled Substances and Regulatory Law practice group.

Peter Paras Joins Ansell.Law

Ansell Grimm October 1, 2024

Ansell.Law is pleased to announce that Peter C. Paras has joined the Firm’s Matrimonial and Family Law Department as counsel. He has dedicated his career exclusively to the practice of family law and brings deep knowledge and industry expertise.

“Welcoming an attorney at Peter’s skill level, with his tremendous experience in divorce and family law matters, along with his contributions to the New Jersey legal community, is a critical component of our strategic growth plan,” said President and Managing Shareholder Michael V. Benedetto. “We’re thrilled to have him join the Firm. Peter’s vast talents as a trial attorney and counselor will benefit our clients immediately. We’re also looking forward to him mentoring our younger attorneys and helping build future leaders in family law.”

A highly sought-after attorney, Paras is known for his legal acumen and courtroom skills and is widely respected by his peers. He is active in the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Family Law Section and has served on its Executive Committee for many years. In recognition of his distinguished career, Paras has been inducted into the Matrimonial Lawyers Alliance and is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Ansell.Law Welcomes Catherine Brennan

Ansell Grimm September 27, 2024

Ansell.Law is pleased to announce that Catherine M. Brennan has joined the Firm as a partner in the Community Association Department. She brings extensive experience representing homeowners associations, condominiums, and cooperative communities, enhancing the capabilities of the thriving practice.

With a strong background in litigation and advisory roles, Brennan will supervise and carry out the Department’s litigations, including lawsuits filed by clients, and defend those clients and their board members against lawsuits filed by others. Throughout her career, she has deftly navigated this legal area’s complexities, guiding clients on governance, dispute resolution, community transition, construction defects, and regulatory compliance matters.

“Cathy’s depth of knowledge across all facets of community association law is spectacular,” said Partner and Community Association Department Chair David J. Byrne. “A gifted litigator and counselor, we’re thrilled to have Cathy on our team.”

Before joining the Firm, Brennan amassed three decades of commercial litigation experience through her work at prominent national and regional law firms. She is based in Ansell.Law’s Princeton office.

In Victory Obtained by Ansell.Law’s Community Assoc. Attorneys, Court Rules Non-Disabled Husband of a Disabled Condo Owner Has No Separate Law Against Discrimination Claim

Ansell Grimm September 26, 2024

Every community association board in New Jersey needs at least a basic working understanding of the state’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD). LAD is most relevant to community associations in concern of residents who claim to be disabled. In this regard, LAD may require community associations to make “reasonable accommodations” in that community’s rules when that accommodation is necessary to afford the resident equal use and enjoyment of his dwelling.

However, as illustrated by a significant victory recently obtained by Ansell.Law’s David Byrne and Nicole Miller, the protections and rights that LAD provides to disabled individuals are not transferable. Specifically, in Player’s Place II Condominium Association, Inc. v. Pozniewski, et al., the Superior Court held that a disabled resident’s non-disabled spouse does not have a LAD claim because he may have been negatively impacted by the alleged discrimination against the disabled individual.

Ansell.Law represented the condo association with respect to its handling of or its dog-related rule in connection with a disabled resident. The resident sought an entitlement with respect to her dog, that the resident characterized as an emotional support animal (ESA).

After Ansell was successful at trial, the litigation ended up before the New Jersey Supreme Court. In its opinion, the Supreme Court discussed the issue of ESAs in New Jersey condominiums generally:

“A resident of a condominium complex is entitled under state and federal law to request an accommodation to a pet policy in order to keep an emotional support animal. The individual must first demonstrate they have a disability under the LAD. In addition, they must show that the requested accommodation may be necessary to afford them an ‘equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.’ The housing provider then has the burden to prove the requested accommodation is unreasonable.”

Even though he is not disabled, the disabled resident’s spouse also sought money in relation to LAD. However, the spouse’s LAD claim was not based on anything related to him. It rested entirely on his wife’s LAD claim. The spouse suffered no actual, personal harm concerning anything contemplated by LAD.

Following the Supreme Court decision and on behalf of the association, Byrne and Miller filed a motion for summary judgment as to the spouse’s LAD claim. The Superior Court granted that motion. The court agreed with the association that the LAD is not applicable to him. Additionally, the court concurred that just because a spouse, sibling, or parent may be “sorely distressed” by discrimination suffered by their family member, that distress does not make the spouse the functional equivalent of an aggrieved person who can bring a claim under LAD.

If you have any questions about this decision or how LAD applies to your New Jersey community association, please contact Nicole Miller or David Byrne at Ansell.Law.

Ansell.Law’s Seth Rosenstein Secures Summary Judgment in Pivotal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Litigation

Ansell Grimm September 25, 2024

As noted in a recent article published by Ansell.Law Partner Seth M. Rosenstein, nuisance Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) cases have cost American businesses millions of dollars, and settlement is often the path of least resistance. It is often the case that an aggressive defense of the claims – particularly when the claims are frivolous – benefits both the business or property owner defending the action, as well as the greater community, by deterring vexatious litigation primarily focused on lining counsel’s pockets.

In one particularly egregious ADA case, the plaintiff claimed that he traveled from Lower Manhattan to Midtown for the purpose of having a document notarized — and that he was unable to access the defendant’s building as a result of a single, small step from the sidewalk. The plaintiff conveniently ignored numerous issues with his case, particularly those stemming from a dearth of facts and crucial information from his cookie-cutter complaint. This is hardly surprising as plaintiffs in ADA cases often profit from the sheer number of cases filed, and the complaints filed in these actions tend to be identical to one another.

The Ansell.Law team aggressively defended this action, and after reviewing the extensive and meticulously detailed moving papers drafted by Rosenstein, the Honorable Lorna G. Schofield of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York questioned the “tester” plaintiff’s intent to return to the subject property and found that he had “not shown a sufficiently concrete intent to return under the heightened standard” of the Second Circuit’s standard set in Calcano v. Swarovski North America. Put another way, the court rejected the plaintiff’s laughable assertion that he (i) traveled to Midtown Manhattan to notarize a document, (ii) frequently needs documents notarized or has a specific document requiring notarization in the future, and (iii) intended to return to Midtown Manhattan for notarization services in the future. The property owner could have rolled over and negotiated a settlement of questionable claims, but instead, it elected to fight – and ADA plaintiffs will think twice before bringing an action against the owner in the future.

If you or your business have been named as defendants in an ADA case, please contact Ansell.Law Partner Seth M. Rosenstein to discuss the path forward.

Game Changing National Association of Realtors Antitrust Settlement – What Real Estate Professionals Need To Know

Ansell Grimm September 5, 2024

By Seth M. Rosenstein

August 17, 2024 was a date of unprecedented and monumental change in America’s real estate industry. On that date, many practices that were standard operating procedure for decades among real estate professionals were forever discarded and replaced as part of a landmark settlement that resolved a high-profile antitrust lawsuit.

For real estate agents and brokers of record, understanding and complying with the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) new mandatory national Multiple Listing Services (MLS) policies as to disclosure, commission, incentive, documentation, and training is non-negotiable. Failure to follow the new protocols can have dire consequences and put licenses and livelihoods at risk.

The NAR posted extensive information and FAQs on its website that dive deep into the nuances and details of what is now required of agents and brokers of record. The three most significant changes, however, relate to compensation structures and transparency about broker compensation. Here is the NAR’s description of its new policies in this regard:

Offers of Compensation Prohibited on Multiple Listing Services

Multiple Listing Service participants, subscribers, and sellers are prohibited from making any offers of compensation on an MLS to buyer brokers or other buyer representatives. Additionally, an MLS must eliminate all broker compensation fields and compensation information, and it may not create, facilitate, or support any non-MLS mechanism for participants, subscribers, or sellers to make offers of compensation to buyer brokers or other buyer representatives.

Disclosure of Compensation

MLS participants and subscribers must:

Disclose to prospective sellers and buyers that broker compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable. This must be included in conspicuous language as part of any listing agreement, buyer written agreement, and pre-closing disclosure documents.
Conspicuously disclose in writing to sellers and obtain the seller’s authority for any payments or offer of payment that the listing participant or seller will make to another broker, agent, or other representative (e.g., real estate attorney) acting for buyers. This disclosure must include the amount or rate of any such payment and be made in writing in advance of any payment or agreement to pay.

Written Buyer Agreement Required Before Touring a Home

Agents working with a buyer must enter into a written buyer agreement before touring a home in person or through a live virtual tour. To comply with the terms of the settlement, a buyer agreement must:

Specify and conspicuously disclose the amount or rate of any compensation the MLS Participant will receive from any source or how this amount will be determined.
Set forth an amount of compensation that is objectively ascertainable and not be open-ended.
Include a statement that MLS Participants may not receive compensation from any source that exceeds the agreed-upon rate with the buyer.
Disclose in conspicuous language that broker commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable.

What Realtors and Brokers of Record Need To Do Now

Failure to follow the new requirements can lead to a host of negative consequences, from hefty fines to NAR sanctions to losing professional licenses. Broadly speaking, industry professionals should take several steps to modify their practices and institute training and education programs to ensure they comply with the new requirements:

Training and Compliance: The settlement mandates that the NAR and its affiliates implement training programs to educate agents and brokers about the new rules and compliance requirements.
Monitoring and Enforcement: The settlement requires regular audits and the establishment of a compliance committee to oversee adherence to the new rules.
Adjustment of Commission Structures: The prohibition against setting minimum commission amounts for buyer’s agents may require brokers of record to reevaluate their commission structures and policies.

If you are a New Jersey real estate professional and have questions about the new requirements brought about by the NAR settlement, please contact Ansell.Law Partner Seth M. Rosenstein. Our team of experienced attorneys often address issues facing the industry and counsel real estate professionals, on an issue-raised basis and as part of ongoing training, compliance and Q&A sessions.

Amendments to New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act May Prejudice Those Involved in Legal Disputes and Undermine the Law’s Purpose

Ansell Grimm September 4, 2024

By David J. Byrne and Nicole D. Miller

Every level of government possesses a treasure trove of information. Each New Jersey municipality and state agency is supposed to keep copious records relating to things like interactions with the public, police reports, permit applications, zoning variance requests as well as internal documents reflecting governmental decision-making. For many, many years, by virtue of New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”), some of those records have been open to the public.

Recently, New Jersey’s legislature amended OPRA. Unfortunately, those amendments may make it much harder for parties anticipating, or involved in, legal disputes to get access to evidence they need to support their claims or defenses.

How OPRA Relates to Litigation and Legal Disputes

While not obvious at first glance, the recent amendments to OPRA are extremely significant to individuals and businesses involved in litigation, other legal proceedings, or potentially exposed to either.

Legal proceedings often involve “discovery.” “Discovery” is the process of requesting, and exchanging, information and documents relevant to the dispute. Discovery also often involves subpoenas or requests to third parties that may have documents or information that neither litigant possesses.

Sometimes, a local governmental body or state agency is such a third party. There are many types of matters in which governmental records can play a critical role: land use, real estate and/or development-related disputes and construction defect litigation, to name a few.

The Problem With the Recent Amendments to OPRA

Before the recent amendments to OPRA, a party involved in litigation could use OPRA to get such records. Now, such a party may be limited to the use of subpoenas.

For example, the revised OPRA, which goes into effect on September 3, 2024, provides, in part, that:

Parties to a legal proceeding are not entitled to government records via OPRA if the record sought is within the scope of any court order in that proceeding or is within the scope of a pending litigation discovery request.

Public agencies are not required to respond to a request if it “does not identify specific individuals or job title or accounts to be searched, a specific subject matter, and is not confined to a discrete and limited reasonable time period.” This creates a Catch-22 for requestors who likely could only obtain such detailed information from the very records they are seeking.

As noted, these amendments may unnecessarily increase the costs associated with procuring records from the government by forcing the use of subpoenas. These amendments also appear to undermine the public’s “right to know.” After the amendments to OPRA become effective in September, we will have a better sense of their impact on legal proceedings and the public in general.

If you have questions or concerns about OPRA and these recent amendments, please contact Nicole Miller or David Byrne at Ansell.Law.

Andrea B. White Attains American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Arbitrator Qualification

Ansell Grimm August 28, 2024

Ansell.Law is pleased to announce that partner Andrea B. White has earned the qualification to be a matrimonial arbitrator. She joins an elite group of attorneys nationwide who have been accepted and successfully completed the training through the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Arbitration Training Institute.

This latest certification follows Andrea’s endorsement to serve on the New Jersey Judiciary Roster of Mediators for Economic Mediation in Family Matters, with a qualification for domestic violence cases. Andrea’s additional certifications provide clients with a range of practical solutions to meet their specific needs in all aspects of family law matters.

A veteran family law attorney, Andrea cultivated her practice in the highly specialized discipline of divorce, custody, parenting time, child support, alimony, and domestic violence. In recognition of her many years of volunteer service, Andrea was recently re-appointed to the New Jersey State Bar Association’s (NJSBA’s) Membership Committee for the 2024-2025 term. Andrea is an emeritus member of the NJSBA’s Family Law Executive Committee and is dedicated to enhancing the New Jersey legal community.

Anthony D’Artiglio Recognized in 2025 Edition of Best Lawyers

Ansell Grimm August 15, 2024

Ansell.Law is pleased to announce that Anthony D’Artiglio has been named in the 2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Recognized for his work in business litigation and bankruptcy, D’Artiglio is named among New Jersey’s Ones to Watch.*

D’Artiglio is a partner and the litigation team leader in our Woodland Park office. He litigates a wide range of commercial matters from inception through trial, including commercial lease disputes, class actions, Consumer Fraud Act claims, corporate/shareholder disputes, employment disputes, and secured property actions. He also regularly represents creditors in bankruptcy matters. His diverse practice includes Bankruptcy, Controlled Substances and Regulatory Law, and Labor & Employment Law matters.

Best Lawyers’ listings, published since 1983, are based on merit and comprehensive peer review. Their methodology captures the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical and legal practice areas.

*No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey or the American Bar Association.

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