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

Judges Suter and Vernoia Temporarily Assigned to the Appellate Division

Chief Justice Rabner announced yesterday that Judges Karen Suter and Francis Vernoia are being temporarily assigned to the Appellate Division. For the period of October 19 through December 27, 2015,...

OPRA Plaintiff Cannot Proceed Anonymously

A.A. v. Gramiccioni, 442 N.J. Super. 276 (App. Div. 2015). It is unusual for a plaintiff to be permitted to use only initials in filing a complaint. As Judge Simonelli...

Disgorgement of Employee's Compensation May be Awarded Even Where Breach of Duty of Loyalty to Employer Does Not Cause Damage

Kaye v. Rosefielde, 223 N.J. 218 (2015). Kaye v. Rosefielde, 432 N.J. Super. 421 (App. Div. 2013), discussed here, seemed destined for Supreme Court review. The Court did grant review,...

Not a Lease, Not a License, but a Profit a Prendre

Van Horn v. Harmony Sand & Gravel, 442 N.J. Super. 333 (App. Div. 2015). When is a document titled "Lease Agreement" not a lease? When it is in fact, regardless...

PERC Has Jurisdiction to Protect Employees' Right to "Assist" Their Unions

In re Probation Ass'n of New Jersey, 442 N.J. Super. 185 (App. Div. 2015). N.J.S.A. 34:13A-5.4(b)(1) prohibits interference with a right guaranteed by the Employer-Employee Relations Act, and the Act...

Discovery of Surveillance Video in a Personal Injury Case

Mernick v. McCutchen, 442 N.J. Super. 196 (App. Div. 2015). This appeal presented a discovery issue in an auto accident case. Defendants had taken surveillance video of the injured plaintiff....

Tailoring Required: The Appellate Division Reins in Overbroad OPRA Requests

This is a guest post by Jeffrey A. Shooman, my colleague at Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC. Shipyard Associates, L.P. v. City of Hoboken, 2015 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2117 (App....

Jack Trubenbach Retires

Jack Trubenbach may be the most important person at the Appellate Division whom few people know about. For exactly 36 years, beginning on September 1, 1979, he has been with...

The Anniversary of Hinfey v. Matawan Regional Bd. of Educ.

As the role of administrative agencies has grown, it has happened that more than one agency has, or arguably has, jurisdiction over the same matter. How is it determined which...

New Guidelines for Emergent Applications in the Appellate Division

In a Notice to the Bar issued today, which is available here, Judge Messano announced new guidelines for emergent applications in the Appellate Division. Those guidelines will take effect on...

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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....