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

OPRA Demand for Information About Certain Out-of-State Travel by Governor Christie Was Properly Denied

Lagerkvist v. Office of the Governor, 443 N.J. Super. 230 (App. Div. 2015). Plaintiff, a journalist, made a request under the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. ("OPRA")...

An Easy Statute of Limitations Case for the Supreme Court

In re Petition for Referendum to Repeal Ordinance 2354-12 of West Orange Tp., 223 N.J. 589 (2015). This appeal involved the timeliness of a challenge to a bond ordinance for...

Important Choice of Law Decisions Coming From the Supreme Court

Yesterday, the Supreme Court announced that it had granted review in Ginsberg v. Quest Diagnostics, Inc., 441 N.J. Super. 198 (App. Div. 2015), briefly summarized here. (Confirming that nobody is...

"Appeals Are Taken From Judgments and Not From Opinions, Let Alone Dicta"

Bandler v. Melillo, 443 N.J. Super. 203 (App. Div. 2015). It is a venerable rule that a party may appeal only a judgment, not the contents of an opinion that...

Judges Suter and Vernoia Are Elevated to the Appellate Division

As discussed here, Judges Karen Suter and Francis Vernoia have been serving temporarily on the Appellate Division since October 19, 2015. Their temporary appointments were scheduled to end on December...

The 1,000th Post: A Rare Published Affirmance on the Opinion Below

In re Adoption of Monroe Tp. Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, 442 N.J. Super. 563 (App. Div. 2015). Many intermediate appellate courts frequently issue opinions that affirm on the...

Humpty Dumpty and Joyce Kilmer, Together, Thanks to Judge Fisher

Freedman v. Sufrin, 443 N.J. Super. 128 (App. Div. 2015). This opinion by Judge Fisher today involved the proper interpretation of a restrictive covenant that purported to restrict the removal...

A Labor Union's Discipline of One of Its Members

Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 22 v. Kavanagh, 443 N.J. Super. 39 (App. Div. 2015). This opinion by Judge Currier today addressed an appeal by defendant, a former member of...

Farmland is Not a "Brownfield," So Application to Construct Solar Facility on Farmland Failed

In re Implementation of L. 2012, c. 24, 443 N.J. Super. 73 (App. Div. 2015). The Solar Act of 2012 ("the Act"), chapter 24 of the Laws of 2012, amended...

A Summary Contempt Proceeding Goes Awry

Ippolito v. Ippolito, 445 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2015). This opinion by Judge Fisher today involved an appeal from a summary contempt proceeding. Counsel for plaintiff in this matrimonial...

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"Hot Fun in the Summertime": Appellate Division Summer Parts

In an Order available here, Chief Justice Rabner announced the lineup for the Appellate Division's summer Parts. As has been customary, the "summer" runs not between the meteorological start and end dates for summer, nor from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but from June 16 through September 7....

The Supreme Court Confirms That Municipalities Can be Subjected to Sanctions for Frivolous Litigation

Borough of Englewood Cliffs v. Trautner, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). This appeal presented the question of whether municipalities can be liable to pay sanctions for frivolous litigation, under the Frivolous Litigation Statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-59.1 ("the FLS"). In a 5-0 opinion written by Justice Fasciale (Chief Justice Rabner and Justice Hoffman did not participate), the Court affirmed, as modified, the decision of the Appellate Division that upheld the Law Division's imposition of FLS sanctions against the Borough....

The "Castle Doctrine"

State v. Bragg, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). A jury found defendant guilty of twelve charged counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering, and two lesser-included offenses of harassment. Some of those charges involved the use of deadly force. Persons may not use deadly force if the can retreat with complete safety. But under the "castle doctrine," an exception to the general rule, a person "is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling, unless he was the initial aggressor." N.J.S.A. 2C:3-4(b)(2)(b)(i). That doctrine derives from the common law....

No Arbitrariness in Rejection of Public Construction Bid That Failed to Include a Properly Signed, Required Consent of Surety

In the Matter of Protest Filed by El Sol Contracting and Construction Corp., Contract T100.638, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). This public bidding case resulted in a 5-2 split at the Supreme Court, the first non-unanimous ruling of the current Term. Justice Hoffman wrote the majority opinion, while Justice Fasciale authored the dissent for himself and Justice Pierre-Louis....