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

Financial Conflicts of Interest in Federal Appeals

A report from the Center for Public Integrity, issued this morning and available at http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/04/28/14630/federal-judges-plead-guilty, addresses financial conflicts of interest in the United States Courts of Appeal. Both a federal statute and Canon...

Two Interesting Wrinkles on Waiver (or Non-Waiver) of Issues Purportedly Not Raised Below

Thompson v. Real Estate Mortgage Network, 748 F.3d 142 (3d Cir. 2014). This opinion, issued today by Judge Vanaskie, is an important one in that it clarifies the pleading standards...

Like a Bad Penny

Some dubious legislation, like a bad penny, keeps coming back on the scene. For a number of years, a bill that would allow appeals as of right of orders granting...

U.S. Supreme Court Denies Review of Washing Machine Class Actions

For many months, the class action defendants' lobby has highlighted two Circuit Court opinions as the latest poster boys in a campaign whose ultimate goal is to abolish class actions....

"If at First You Don't Succeed …."

Dewey v. Volkswagen, A.G., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 2596 (3d Cir. Feb. 12, 2014). In Dewey v. Volkswagen, A.G., 681 F.3d 170 (3d Cir. 2012), the Third Circuit reversed approval...

Class Ascertainability- The Third Circuit Approaches the Precipice

Carrera v. Bayer Corp., 727 F.3d 300 (3d Cir. 2013). In Marcus v. BMW of North America, Inc., 687 F.3d 583 (3d Cir. 2012), the Third Circuit embarked on a very dangerous path...

Marcus v. BMW Reiterated

Hayes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 725 F.3d 349 (3d Cir. 2013). In this consumer class action, the Third Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Scirica, vacated class certification. That decision rested largely...

Supreme Court Says TCCWNA Gives Broad Protections to Consumers

Shelton v. Restaurant.com, Inc., 214 N.J. 419 (2013). [Disclosure: I argued this case in the Supreme Court for the successful plaintiffs]. This consumer protection case has had a long odyssey. Originally filed...

The Supreme Court Upholds Class Arbitration in Oxford v. Sutter

Oxford Health Plans LLC v. Sutter, 133 S.Ct. 2064 (2013). In Sutter v. Oxford Health Plans, LLC, 675 F.3d 215 (3d Cir. 2012), discussed here, the Third Circuit upheld an arbitrator's interpretation...

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...

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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....