On July 28, 2023, after a four-year investigation, the Local Finance Board (LFB), the primary enforcer of the New Jersey Local Government Ethics Law (LGEL), levied fines totaling $1,750 against a former township committee member and fire commissioner based on voting to allocate public funds to a company he was employed by. According to its […]
Posted inNJ Civil Settlements
Rutgers Quietly Settles 2018 Lawsuit Alleging Professor’s Sexual Assault of Student for $375,000.
On April 13, 2023, Rutgers University quietly paid $375,000 to settle a 2018 lawsuit filed by a graduate student who claimed that a University professor “abused his position of authority to sexually assault and harass [her] ultimately coercing her into a seemingly ‘consensual’ relationship,” an allegation that the professor vehemently denies. (See update below, showing […]
Posted inNJ Civil Settlements
Ventnor City Settles Two Lawsuits For $2 Million Stemming From Tragic Suicide With Police-issued Glock Handgun.
In June and July of 2023, Ventnor City (Atlantic County, NJ) reached settlements in two separate lawsuits, each for $1 million. These lawsuits stemmed from a tragic incident in which a woman took her own life using a Glock handgun issued to her boyfriend, who then served as a sergeant with Ventnor City’s police department. […]
Posted inNJ Open Government Notes
1,582 Officials, Including Twelve Mayors, Fined $100 for Late Financial Disclosure Statement Filings.
The Local Finance Board (LFB), operating under the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, is responsible for enforcing the Local Government Ethics Law in counties and municipalities lacking their own ethics boards. (A list of counties and municipalities that have their own ethics boards is on-line here.) According to its June 14, 2023 meeting minutes, […]
Posted inNJ Civil Settlements
Ocean City school district quietly settles bullied student’s lawsuit for $85,000.
On August 2, 2023, the Ocean City Board of Education (Cape May County, NJ) quietly paid $85,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a seventh grade girl who claimed that school officials did not protect her from pervasive bullying by other students. In her lawsuit, the then thirteen year old, who is identified only by […]