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

An Unpublished Appellate Division Decision is Binding on the Parties to that Ruling

Triffin v. Capital One, 2011 WL 2848271 (App. Div. July 20, 2011). Under Rule 1:36-3, "[n]o unpublished opinion shall constitute precedent," and "except to the extent required by res judicata, collateral estoppel, the single...

No Consumer Fraud Act "Ascertainable Loss" Where Defendant Erroneously Sold Plaintiffs Food That Violated Their Religious Beliefs

Gupta v. Asha Enterprises, LLC, 422 N.J. Super. 136 (App. Div. 2011). Many religious believers have dietary restrictions. When they purchase food that is represented as being acceptable under those...

In New Jersey, A Class Action is Not Appropriate for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (Unwanted Faxes) Claims

Local Baking Products, Inc. v. Kosher Bagel Munch, Inc., 421 N.J. Super. 268 (App. Div. 2011). The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. §227 ("TCPA"), prohibits the sending of unsolicited...

Judges Hayden, Ostrer and St. John are Elevated to the Appellate Division

Chief Justice Rabner announced today that, effective August 1, 2011, Judges Hayden, Ostrer and St. John were all being elevated to the Appellate Division. All three of those judges were previously...

N.J.S.A. 2A:23A-18b Does Not Always Bar Further Appeal of Arbitration Awards After Proceedings in the Law Division

Open MRI & Imaging v. Mercury Ins. Group, 421 N.J. Super. 160 (App. Div. 2011). N.J.S.A. 2A:23A-18b, p;art of the Alternative Procedures for Dispute Resolution Act ("APDRA"), provides that "[u]pon the...

City/State Location of Calls to/from Public Employees' Government-Provided Cellphones are Not Private

Livecchia v. Borough of Mount Arlington, 421 N.J. Super. 24 (App. Div. 2011). North Jersey Newspapers Co. v. Passaic Cty. Bd. of Freeholders, 127 N.J. 9 (1992), held that "the people...

Oral Argument on Substantive Civil Motions Under Rule 1:6-2(d): A Modest Proposal

LVNV Funding, LLC v. Colvell, 421 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2011). This opinion, by Judge Koblitz, reversed summary judgment for a creditor on a revolving credit card account and...

29 Years Since Crowe v. DeGioia

On July 8, 1982, the Supreme Court decided Crowe v. DeGioia, 9o N.J. 126 (1982). The case has become the standard authority for the criteria for issuing preliminary injunctive relief. But attorneys...

Individual Owners, Officers or Employees, as Well as Their Companies, Can be Liable for Violation of Consumer Fraud Act Regulations

Allen v. V and A Bros., Inc.., 208 N.J. 114 (2011). The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 et seq. ("CFA"), makes liable any "person" who violates the CFA. In...

No Duty to Inspect Delivery Truck for Teenagers Sitting on Back of Truck, Taking a Ride, and Getting Injured by Falling Off

Badalamenti v. Simkiss, 422 N.J. Super. 86 (App. Div. 2011). Advocates of "tort reform" like to complain that New Jersey courts will allow anyone to proceed, or even to recover,...

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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....