NJ Appellate Law Blog – NJ Appellate Lawyer Bruce D. Greenberg blogs about Appeals and Appellate Law Practice

Force Majeure

Hess Corp. v. ENI Petroleum, US, LLC, 435 N.J. Super. 89 (App. Div. 2014). ENI entered into a "Base Contract," a form widely used in the oil industry, under which...

No Nursing Home Act Violation, and Therefore No Consumer Fraud Act or TCCWNA Violation Either

Manahawkin Convalescent v. O'Neill, 217 N.J. 99 (2014). This comprehensive opinion by Justice Patterson for a unanimous Court ultimately boils down to this: because plaintiff, a nursing home, did not violate the...

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Today is the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. It is both a federal and a New Jersey holiday that is observed on the third Monday of January,...

Access Easements

Caribbean House, Inc. v. North Hudson Yacht Club, 434 N.J. Super. 220 (App. Div. 2013). This decision by Judge Accurso, issued today, involves an "easement of way," or an access...

When "Piecemeal" Adjudication is Required

Waskevich v. Herold Law, P.A., 431 N.J. Super. 293 (App. Div. 2013). What happens in a case where the parties have agreed to arbitrate some claims between them but not others? Do...

Interpreting an Indemnification Clause Cannot "Make a Fortress Out of The Elements of Style"

Sayles v. G&G Hotels, Inc., 429 N.J. Super. 266 (App. Div. 2013). This case involved the interpretation of an indemnification clause. In his opinion for the panel, Judge Fisher unpacked a "complex" provision...

The U.S. Supreme Court Says it Again: It is for the Arbitrator, Not a Court, to Decide Whether a Contract Containing an Arbitration Clause is Valid

Nitro-Lift Technologies, LLC v. Howard, 133 S.Ct. 500 (2012). In a line of cases that includes Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Mfg. Co., 388 U.S. 395 (1967), and Buckeye Check...

Can an Insurer, Suspicious of Insurance Fraud, Require Health Providers Who Seek Reimbursement from the Insurer, to Supply Information About Their Ownership Structure and Billing Practices?

Selective Ins. Co. v. Hudson East Pain Management, 210 N.J. 597 (2012). Defendants provided medical treatment to patients who had personal injury protection ("PIP") insurance through plaintiff ("Selective"). The patients assigned their right to...

A Wise Decision on Class Arbitration

Sutter v. Oxford Health Plans, LLC, 675 F.3d 215 (3d Cir. 2012). Decisions in favor of class arbitration may seem to be few and far between these days. But in this case,...

Repossession Company is Not "User by Permission" of Repossessed Automobile

Repossession Specialists v. Geico Ins. Co., 423 N.J. Super. 518 (App. Div. 2012). Annetta Jackson defaulted on her car loan, and Repossession Specialists ("Repossession") was sent to repossess the vehicle. After the...

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South Seaside Park Can Detach Itself From Berkeley Township

Whiteman v. Township Council of Berkeley Township, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). South Seaside Park is a small (490 year-round residents) barrier island community that has been annexed to the Township of Berkeley ("the Township"). South Seaside Park sought to deannex itself from the Township and to be annexed instead to the Borough of Seaside Park. South Seaside Park followed a statutory petitioning procedure in doing so. The Township refused consent. South Seaside Park went to court and won a ruling from the Law Division that rejected the Township's refusal. The Appellate Division affirmed. Yesterday, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Patterson, the Supreme Court affirmed as well....

Megan's Law "Not Likely to Pose a Threat to the Safety of Others" Extends to Non-Sexual as Well as Sexual Re-Offenses

In re Registrant S.O., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). This appeal presented a pure legal issue relating to the "public safety prongs" contained in the termination provisions of Megan's Law, N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2(f), and the Community Supervision for Life statute ("CSL"), N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.4(c). Judge Vanek crystallized that "novel" issue as "whether, on a registrant's application to terminate Megan's Law and CSL obligations, the phrase ‘not likely to pose a threat to the safety of others' should be broadly interpreted with the trial court considering threats to safety from subsequent non-sexual and sexual offenses or whether the inquiry should be limited to the threat of sexual re-offense only." The panel held that the broader view was the correct one....

Using Proof of Habit or Routine Practice as Evidence of Conduct in a Particular Instance

Fazio v. Altice USA, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). As Justice Fasciale noted in his opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court today, "[h]abit evidence is particularly well suited for cases involving reasonably regular and uniform routine practices of business organizations." New Jersey Evidence Rule 406 permits proof of conduct in a particular instance via the presentation of habit or routine practice. The application of that Rule was at the center of this appeal....

Two Published Appellate Division Decisions in This Short Week

Tomorrow is Independence Day and the courts are closed. Many have taken vacation time in this short week. But not the Appellate Division, which issued two published opinions this week. Here are summaries....