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

Appellate Division Summer Emergent Duty Schedule is Issued

The Appellate Division Emergent Duty Summer Schedule, covering June 10-September 8, was made public this morning. Although the schedule is subject to change, as the Appellate Division itself has noted, no judge...

Ski Act Does Not Govern Accidents Between Skiers

Angland v. Mountain Creek Resort, Inc., 213 N.J. 99 (2013). Plaintiffs' decedent had a skiing accident with a snowboarder, from which plaintiff's' decedent later died. His estate sued the ski area and the...

The "Temporary Validity Doctrine" of Administrative Law

E.B. v. Division of Medical Assistance & Health Services, 431 N.J. Super. 183 (App. Div. 2013). This appeal challenged the issuance of Medicaid Communication No. 11-03 by the defendant Division. In that...

The "Gray Area" of Sidewalk Liability

Grijalba v. Floro, 431 N.J. Super. 57 (App. Div. 2013). As Judge Fasciale's opinion in this case shows in detail, issues of whether and when a property owner is liable for injuries...

Commercial Landlord Has No Duty to Ensure That Building's Water Supply is Free of Legionnaire's Disease

Vellucci v. Allstate Ins. Co., 431 N.J. Super. 39 (App. Div. 2013). Plaintiff's decedent was employed by Allstate at an office building owned, designed, built, and managed by Mack-Cali Realty, L.P. Plaintiff...

The Timeliness of Estate-Related Litigation

In re Estate of Thomas, 431 N.J. Super. 22 (App. Div. 2013). Rule 4:85-1 establishes a short time period (four months for New Jersey residents and six months for non-residents, subject to...

Estate of Desir v. Vertus Reversed: Defendant Owed No Duty of Care

Estate of Desir v. Vertus, 214 N.J. 303 (2013). In this case, which involved the application of premises liability and the rescue doctrine to a tragic shooting death, the Appellate Division reversed the Law...

The Rollout of Electronic Filing in the Appellate Division

The Supreme Court has issued a Notice to the Bar, available here, that reveals the schedule for the introduction of electronic filing in the Appellate Division. Criminal appeals and motions...

The Invited Error Doctrine

State v. A.R., 185 N.J. 256 (2013). This blog does not often report on criminal cases. But the attached decision, written by Judge Cuff for a unanimous Supreme Court, highlights the invited...

A Fine Mess Involving the Designation of Trial Counsel Rule

Hernandez v. North Jersey Neurosurgical Assocs., 2013 N.J. Super. LEXIS 1146 (App. Div. May 14, 2013). This decision, in a medical malpractice case, was designated as not precedential, but perhaps should be reconsidered...

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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....