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

The Anniversary of the "Seat Belt Defense" Decision

Twenty seven years ago today, the Supreme Court decided Waterson v. General Motors Corp., 111 N.J. 238 (1988). Until then, the Court had not spoken about the effect of seat...

Hearsay, Business Record, and Expert Testimony Errors Require a New Trial

Gonzalez v. Hugelmeyer, 441 N.J. Super. 451 (App. Div. 2015). This auto accident case went to trial and produced a verdict for plaintiffs. The defendant driver appealed, and the Appellate...

Ordinances Increasing Municipal Appropriations by Not More Than 3.5% Cannot be the Subject of a Faulkner Act Referendum

Roseff v. Byram Tp., 432 N.J. Super. 8 (App. Div. 2013). The referendum provision of the Faulkner Act, N.J.S.A. 40:69A-185, which permits citizens to petition for a referendum to seek to overturn a...

IFPA Claims by Private Insurers are Subject to Trial by Jury

Allstate New Jersey Ins. Co. v. Lajara, 222 N.J. 129 (2015). The Insurance Fraud Prevention Act, N.J.S.A. 17:33A-1 to-30 ("IFPA"), permits insurance companies to sue those who engage in insurance...

"Watchdog" Employees are Entitled to Full Protection Under CEPA

Lippman v. Ethicon, Inc., 222 N.J. 362 (2015). In 2013, the Appellate Division determined that so-called "watchdog" employees (that is, employees whose job it is to bring forward issues relating...

For Want of a Comma…. Qualified Immunity Protects Law Enforcement Officers Sued Under the Civil Rights Act

Morillo v. Monmouth County Sheriff's Officers, 222 N.J. 104 (2015). It has long been the case, especially under the federal Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §1983, that law enforcement officers...

Consequential Damages Caused by Construction Subcontractor's Defective Work Were "Property Damage" and an "Occurrence" Under CGL Insurance Policy

Cypress Point Condominium Ass'n, Inc. v. Adria Towers, LLC, 441 N.J. Super. 369 (App. Div. 2015). A condominium association sued multiple parties, including insurers under commercial general liability ("CGL") insurance...

Appellate Division Again Expands Electronic Filing

In a Notice to the Bar that was published yesterday, the Appellate Division announced that electronic filing in that court, which has been phased in incrementally, is again being expanded....

Land Use Litigant Cannot "Make a Mockery of the Exhaustion Doctrine"

Casser v. Knowlton Tp., 441 N.J. Super. 353 (App. Div. 2015). Two consolidated cases, three Law Division judges who had pieces of these matters, and a lengthy and convoluted procedural...

The Appellate Division Lineup for 2015-16

Chief Justice Rabner has issued the General Assignment Order for 2015-16. The full Order, whose assignments take effect on September 1, 2015, can be viewed here. As far as the Appellate Division...

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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....