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

Bad Faith Claims Under Rova Farms Can Get a Jury Trial

Wood v. New Jersey Manufacturers Ins. Co., 206 N.J. 562 (2011). The question of what claims are triable to a jury has vexed the courts for many years, in various...

Supreme Court Will Review McGovern v. Rutgers Open Public Meetings Act Ruling

The Supreme Court has granted certification in this case, which addresses important issues under the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 to -21. The Appellate Division's decision that will be...

Unwarranted Hysteria

State v. Timmendequas, 2011 WL 2326967 (App. Div. June 14, 2011). Talk radio personalities and others whose job it is to create controversy or to enhance the public's fears have...

When A Client Legitimately Decides to Change Counsel, the Replaced Attorney Can't Sue the New Attorney

Nostrame v. Santiago, 420 N.J. Super. 427 (App. Div. 2011). Many attorneys have seen a potentially lucrative case walk out the door because the client has decided to switch attorneys. The...

Judge Wefing Replaces Judge Stern on the Supreme Court

Today, Judge Stern reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. Accordingly, Chief Justice Rabner appointed Judge Wefing, the Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division, to the seat that Judge Stern...

"Law of the Case" Requires Appointed Counsel in Municipal Court for Defendant Whom Appellate Courts Had Found Was Indigent

State v. Mierzwa, 420 N.J. Super. 207 (App. Div. 2011). This case involved a municipal court matter that was first tried on July 27, 2006, nearly five years ago. On appeal from a conviction...

Two Lessons in Reading Title 39

Perrelli v. Pastorelle, 206 N.J. 193 (2011); Voss v. Tranquilino, 206 N.J. 93 (2011). Yesterday, the Supreme Court decided two cases involving two different sub-sections of N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.5. Both cases...

Hello, Newman

Here's an unusual pair of decisions. Laurence S. Newman married Lynda in 1985. They were divorced in 1994. Mr. Newman then married Debra in 1995. That marriage ended in divorce in...

The Route 280 Case

In re Route 280 Contract, 89 N.J. 1 (1982), is frequently cited in connection with the standards for a grant of certification or a decision to vacate certification. But few have occasion...

The First Word on RPC 1.18

O Builders & Associates, Inc. v. Yuna Corp., 206 N.J. 109 (2011). In 2004, the Supreme Court adopted Rule of Professional Conduct 1.18. As it relates to the case decided...

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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....