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

As the Summer Months Begin, the Supreme Court Takes Three More Cases

The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would review three more cases. One of those is before the Court as of right, due to a dissent in the Appellate...

Literal Reading of Police and Fire Public Interest Arbitration Reform Act on Applicability of Cap on Arbitration Awards Would Yield Absurd Results, so the Appellate Division Rejects That Outcome

In re State of New Jersey and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 91, 450 N.J. Super. 286 (App. Div. 2017). In her opinion for the Appellate Division today, Judge Reisner...

DEP Has the Power to Condemn Property, Take Perpetual Easements to Protect the Shore, and Allow Public Access to Easement Areas

State of New Jersey, Department of Env. Protection v. North Beach 1003, LLC, 451 N.J. Super. 214 (App. Div. 2017). Beach access has long been an important and controversial issue...

OPRA Covers Electronically Stored Information, Including Fields in E-Mails

Paff v. Galloway Tp., 229 N.J. 340 (2017). In this OPRA case, as discussed here, plaintiff sought to obtain copies of fields in e-mails sent by the Galloway Township Clerk...

A Diverse Diet of New Cases for the Supreme Court

In making up for lost time, a separate post was warranted to take note of three new grants of review by the Supreme Court. The cases address very different areas...

An Administrative Regulation, "A Linguistic Morass," is Invalidated as Arbitrary and Capricious

In re N.J.A.C. 12:17-2.1, 450 N.J. Super. 152 (App. Div. 2017). Given the deferential standard of review of the validity of regulations promulgated by administrative agencies, it is relatively rare...

Two More Supreme Court Grants of Review Announced Today

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in two more appeals. One case involves unemployment benefits, a subject that the Court visits only occasionally. The other is...

"Pent-Up" Demand for Low and Moderate Income Housing Must be Accounted for as Part of "Present Need"

In re Declaratory Judgment Actions Filed by Various Municipalities, 227 N.J. 508 (2017). In the Appellate Division decision in this case, reported at 446 N.J. Super. 259 (App. Div. 2016),...

The Legislative Review Clause of the New Jersey Constitution

Communication Workers of America, AFL-CIO v. New Jersey Civil Service Comm'n, 447 N.J. Super. 584 (App. Div. 2016). Article V, section 4, paragraph 6 of the New Jersey Constitution, approved...

Fiscal Emergencies Alone Do Not Permit Public Employers to Adversely Affect Employee Compensation in Violation of Collective Bargaining Agreements

In re Robbinsville Tp. Bd. of Educ. v. Washington Tp. Educ. Ass'n, 227 N.J. 192 (2016). In Borough of Keyport v. International Union of Operating Engineers, 222 N.J. 314 (2015),...

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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....