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

Another Permutation of "Legal Duty and Tort Liability in a Drunk Driving Context"

Diaz v. Reynoso, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Near the beginning of his opinion for the Appellate Division today, Judge Sabatino succinctly stated the issue in this case:...

Reconsideration of Final Orders vs. Reconsideration of Interlocutory Orders

Lawson v. Dewar, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). This opinion by Judge Fisher was made on summary disposition, a rare occurrence in our appellate courts. In the first...

An Appeal About Whether a Case is Immediately Appealable, and Two Others for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted certification in three more cases. One of them, Harris v. City of Newark, involves an appellate practice issue. The question presented...

Dismissals for Failure to Prosecute Cannot be With Prejudice

Estate of Semprevivo v. Lahham, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Judge Rose issued this opinion for the Appellate Division today. It "implicates the proper application and limitations of...

A Summary Reversal in an Election Case

Board of Education of East Newark v. Harris, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Rule 2:8-3(b) allows the Appellate Division to decide appeals summarily without notice to the parties....

Properly Dismissed From an MDL? Yes. Properly Dismissed With Prejudice? No.

Hamer v. Livanova Deustschland GMBH, ____ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2021). This appeal involved one of many cases comprising MDL 2816, which is venued in the United States District Court...

Relief From Judgment Under Rule 4:50-1(f) in a Tax Sale Foreclosure Case

BV001 REO Blocker, LLC v. 53 West Somerset Properties, LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Judge Ostrer's opinion in this case, issued today, may become the new "go-to"...

The Supreme Court Will Decide the Constitutional Validity of an Indictment Returned by a Virtual Grand Jury

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in State v. Vega-Larregui. Pursuant to Rule 2:12-1, the Court granted direct certification of a portion of defendant's motion to dismiss...

Attorneys Whose Retainer Agreements Include Mandatory Arbitration for Malpractice Claims or Fee Disputes Must Explain the Arbitration Clause to the Client Up Front

Delaney v. Dickey, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). Justice Albin's opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court in this case today is an important one for attorneys and their clients. The Court...

Personal Jurisdiction by New Jersey State Courts Over Out-of-State Counsel Admitted Pro Hac Vice in New Jersey Federal Court

Zahl v. Eastland, 465 N.J. Super. 79 (App. Div. 2020). [Disclosure: I have represented the defendants in this matter.] Judge Messano's opinion for the Appellate Division in this case today...

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No Ethics Violation in Attorney Purchasing Another Attorney's Name as a Keyword for Internet Searches, the Supreme Court Says, With a Caveat

In re Opinion No. 735 of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). [Disclosure: I represented an amicus curiae in this appeal]. As Justice Noriega said in his opinion for a 5-1 majority (Justice Pierre-Louis did not participate), this appeal "presents the narrow question of whether it is permissible under the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) for an attorney or law firm to purchase a competing attorney's or law firm's name as a keyword." The Court found it permissible, with a caveat. Justice Fasciale dissented....

Four Criminal Law Cases, and a Qui Tam Appeal, for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in five new appeals. One of them is before the Court on leave to appeal, while in the others the Court granted certification....

The "Limited Attorney Exemption" of the Debt Adjustment and Credit Counseling Act is Held Unconstitutional as Violative of the Separation of Powers and Void for Vagueness

Anchor Law Firm, PLLC v. State of New Jersey, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The Debt Adjustment and Credit Counseling Act, N.J.S.A. 17:16G-1 et seq. ("DACCA"), prohibits debt adjusters in New Jersey from operating for a profit. There is an exception for attorneys not "principally engaged" (a term not defined in the statute) in debt adjustment. That exception, adopted in a 1986 amendment, replaced a prior version of the DACCA that had exempted all attorneys from its scope....

Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week: Where a Party Files a Suit Alleged to Violate the UPEPA But Quickly Dismisses It, Can Defendants Then Get Counsel Fees Under the Statute?

On May 15, judges on Part C of the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Satz v. Keshet Starr. Plaintiff, acting pro se, filed a defamation suit against defendants. Defendants filed an o order to show cause to dismiss the case and for attorneys' fees under the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-49 et seq. ("UPEPA"). The UPEPA, enacted in 2023, sought to make it more difficult to use the legal system as a weapon to bully individuals into silence by filing what have been known as SLAPP ("strategic lawsuits against public participation") suits....