Family Matters

Mr. Bloom represented a West New York mother, an illegal immigrant, who was the principal caregiver of a young child. Mother had threatened to take the child out of the country and never permit the father to see the child again. The father went to court to seek custody of the child and prevent the woman from ever leaving the country. Mr. Bloom negotiated that the mother continues to be the parent where the child primarily lives. He was able to secure child support to benefit the infant and have the child receive medical care from the father. Additionally, Mr. Bloom got permission from the father to permit the mother and child to leave the country on vacation.

A Secaucus father retained Mr. Bloom complaining that his children, who resided with the mother, were not treated properly and lived in unsanitary conditions. Mr. Bloom went to family court in Hudson County and, despite heated opposition by the mother and her attorney, was able to secure a transfer of custody of the minor children to their father. He was also able to have the wife undergo therapy, take parenting classes and clean up the environment where she lived. Thereafter, Mr. Bloom's client consented to the return of the children to their mother knowing that they would be in a safe and healthy home.

A young Ridgefield bride with two children approached Mr. Bloom scared that her husband's threats that she would be left on the street with no money, no car and no children would become a reality. Although involved in a short term marriage, the mother was not fluent in English, not well educated and her husband was an affluent entrepreneur. After a hotly contested series of negotiations, and numerous trips to court in Bergen County, Mr. Bloom was able to secure for his client the sole ownership of the family residence. He also negotiated that the husband would pay both outstanding mortgages on the property; provide health insurance for the children and wife as well as provide a luxury vehicle to the wife for ten (10) years, in addition to having the husband pay child support at levels far exceeding those required by the law. After several months, the now ex-wife, wanted to move to Florida. Again, after substantial negotiations, Mr. Bloom was able to facilitate the transfer of his client to Florida with the minor children as well as the Nanny that the father had been paying for.

In a nationally publicized case, Mr. Bloom was retained by a Union City single mother of a disabled child who was the beneficiary of a substantial medical malpractice verdict following her birth. After surviving for 22 years, the child unfortunately passed away without a Will. The father, who lived in New York, had no contact with the mother and never paid child support, appeared to claim his share of the inheritance. Although New Jersey did not have a law that was favorable to the mother and child support laws are usually interpreted to prohibit retroactive payments, Mr. Bloom defended the mother against the absentee father. After extensive arguments and lengthy briefs, the trial court Judge ruled in favor of the father and permitted him to collect ½ of the estate and not have to pay child support. Dissatisfied with this egregious result, Mr. Bloom appealed the issue to the Appellate Division. Unfortunately, the Appellate Division would not create a law that disinherited absentee parents. However, for the first time in a reported decision, the Appellate Division recognized that a parent might be entitled to retroactive child support under the appropriate circumstances. Previously Judges had ordered that a parent seeking child support will be awarded that support only retroactive to the date they filed papers with the court, and not to the date when the need for support arose. It is believed that this ruling will expand the ability of a parent to secure proper care and support for their child when confronted with a non-compliant parent.

An elderly man was estranged from his wife and forced to leave the family home. Although courts had ruled for years that he still had to provide alimony and maintain the home he did not live in, Mr. Bloom filed papers to reverse that trend. After a hearing, Mr. Bloom was able to secure an Order compelling the wife to either maintain all costs associated with the marital residence or that it be sold. This permitted the disabled client to eliminate the tremendous financial burden that had been draining all the money he had saved for his retirement.

Other matters that Mr. Bloom handles include personal injury and workers' compensation.

Recently Mr. Bloom represented a Passaic resident who worked on a loading dock. After a truck had been fully loaded and was preparing to leave the dock Mr. Bloom's client jumped out of the open bay, instead of taking the stairs, landing right behind the truck. The truck suddenly backed up pinning the gentlemen against the building causing the amputation of his leg. Despite that the client had jumped into a zone of danger putting himself at risk, Mr. Bloom was able to negotiate a settlement in excess $750,000.00 for the injured worker, in addition to a substantial settlement of the workers' compensation case.

Mr. Bloom was retained by a Hackensack man, who, in his third day of the job, was working for a roofing company when he suddenly fell fracturing his skull. The roofing company's insurance carrier claimed that they did not provide insurance coverage and would not be responsible for the loss. The case involved substantial issues of independent contractor liability, relationships of casual employees, sub-contractors and general contractors, as well as when architects go beyond the scope of their role and act as general contractors. After a lengthy trial Mr. Bloom was able to secure full benefits for his client, including payments of over $270,000.00 of medical bills and 1 ½ years of retroactive temporary disability.

An Accountant, seeking to save some money, wanted to install a fire door in his home. He ordered an appropriate door from Home Depot and, when he went to the store to pick it up, the door fell off the cart slicing several fingers on his dominant hand and causing nerve damage. Although Home Depot argued that the door had been properly loaded onto the cart and the accident was solely the result of the customer, Mr. Bloom was able to secure an award of $125,000.00 for the damage to the small finger of his client's hand.