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

No Municipal Liability for 911 Calls

Turner v. Irvington Tp., 430 N.J. Super. 274 (App. Div. 2013). This opinion by Judge Parrillo reversed the denial of the defendant Township's motion for summary judgment in a case that sought...

DeHanes v. Rothman: An Anniversary

On this date in 1999, the Supreme Court decided DeHanes v. Rothman, 158 N.J. 90 (1999). There, in a unanimous opinion by Justice O'Hern, the Court held that it was...

Judicial Sarcasm and Rule 68

Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, 133 S.Ct. 1523 (2013). Of all the current sitting Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Scalia is the one who would normally...

Is Mandatory Judicial Retirement at 70 Unconstitutional?

Article VI, section 6, paragraph 3 of the New Jersey Constitution provides that Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Superior Court "shall be retired upon attaining the...

Improvident Grants of Certiorari (or Certification)

Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, 133 S.Ct. 1426 (2013). In this antitrust class action case, the Supreme Court of the United States split 5-4, among all too predictable lines. The majority, in a...

Adverse Inference Charges

Washington v. Perez, 430 N.J. Super. 121 (App. Div. 2013). In proper circumstances, a jury may be told that it can consider the fact that a party did not call a particular...

A Very Important Ruling About Late Notices of Tort Claim

D.D. v. University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, 213 N.J. 130 (2013). Under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:8-1 et seq. ("TCA"), no lawsuit can be filed against...

Stipulation by Named Plaintiff Limiting Damages to Under $5 Million in Order to Keep Class Action in State Court Does Not Block Defendant From Removing to Federal Court

Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Knowles, 133 S.Ct. 1345 (2013). Class action plaintiffs often prefer, for strategic or tactical reasons, to bring their cases in state courts, while class action defendants normally...

New Jersey Law Firms May Now Use Some Trade Names

In re Letter Decision of the Committee on Attorney Advertising, Docket No. 47-2007, 213 N.J. 171 (2013). New Jersey Rule of Professional Conduct 7.5 requires that a law firm's name "include the...

No Magic Words Needed for Insurer to Reject Under-Insured Motorist Arbitration Award and Obtain a Trial

Vega v. 21st Century Ins. Co., 430 N.J. Super. 18 (App. Div. 2013). More and more, courts are rejecting formalisms and looking to the realities of a situation. This opinion by Judge...

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A Municipal Court Administrator is Employed by the Township, Not the Administrative Office of the Courts

Palmisano v. State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The opening paragraph of Judge Marczyk's opinion for the Appellate Division well encapsulates what the appeal was about and what the result was. "Plaintiff Lindsay Palmisano appeals from the trial court's April 1, 2024 order dismissing her complaint with prejudice against defendant State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts and Municipal Division (AOC) pursuant to Rule 4:6-2(e). The primary issue on appeal is whether plaintiff, a municipal court administrator, is an employee of the AOC, thereby allowing her to assert a claim against the AOC under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49. Based on our review of the record and the applicable legal principles, we conclude plaintiff was employed by Vernon Township (Township), not the AOC, and, therefore, we affirm."...

Supreme Court to Take Up Two Published Appellate Division Opinions

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in two new appeals. One is before the Court on leave to appeal. The Court granted certification in the other matter....

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....