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

DePascale to be Argued on March 26

The Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument in this potentially significant constitutional case for March 26 at 10 A.M. The courtroom may be filled to overflowing, but interested persons can...

A Wise Application of the Supreme Court's Directives Regarding Awards of Attorneys' Fees

Grow Company, Inc. v. Chokshi, 424 N.J. Super. 357 (App. Div. 2012). This is yet another in what seems to be an endless stream of appeals of awards of attorneys' fees. That...

More About the "Name Game"

Holst-Knudsen v. Mikisch, 424 N.J. Super. 590 (App. Div. 2012). In Emma v. Evans, 424 N.J. Super. 36 (App. Div. 2012), a panel of the Appellate Division addressed the issue of a name change...

Presence of One Telecommuting Employee in New Jersey Subjects Out-of-State Company to New Jersey Corporation Business Tax

Telebright Corp., Inc. v. Director, New Jersey Div. of Taxation, 424 N.J. Super. 384 (App. Div. 2012). Plaintiff, a Delaware company with offices in Maryland, has an employee who telecommutes from New...

Non-Delegable Duties: Horrific Facts Don't Make New Law

Davis v. Devereux Foundation, 209 N.J. 269 (2012). Under the Restatement of Agency (Second), §219(2)(c), when one has a duty to protect others and delegates that duty to an agent, such as an...

Justice Long Retires

Today, February 29, 2012, was Justice Long's last day on the Supreme Court. She turns 70 years of age tomorrow and, thus, she has reached mandatory retirement age. Justice Long's...

The Effect of the Product Liability Act's Presumption of Labeling Adequacy on the Statute of Limitations in Products Cases

Kendall v. Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc.., 209 N.J. 173 (2012). In this case, the 5-1 majority opinion by Justice Long offers a comprehensive tutorial about New Jersey's "discovery rule," which mitigates the strict statute...

Another Reminder from the U.S. Supreme Court About the Importance of Arbitration Clauses

Marmet Health Care Center, Inc. v. Brown, 565 U.S. ___, 132 S.Ct. 1201 (2012). The Supreme Court of the United States decides many fewer cases now than it did in prior...

Hills Dev. Co. v. Bernards Tp.- Decided 26 Years Ago Today

On this date in 1986, the Supreme Court decided Hills Dev. Co v. Bernards Tp., 103 N.J. 1 (1986). At the time, it was one of the Court's most important...

When Do Changed Circumstances Allow a Deed Restriction Imposed by a Planning Board to be Removed?

American Dream at Marlboro, LLC v. Marlboro Tp. Planning Bd., 209 N.J. 161 (2012). This per curiam opinion addresses the issue of when a deed restriction imposed by a planning board can...

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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....