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

The Third Circuit is Unhappy About Motions for Overlength Briefs

In an order entered yesterday and issued per curiam, on behalf of the entire Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Chief Judge McKee directed that "a three-judge Standing Motions Panel is hereby...

Has the Supreme Court Rejected the Restatement (Third) of Trusts?

The Supreme Court of New Jersey has historically been willing to adopt the views of the American Law Institute, as stated in its various Restatements of the Law, including, in particular,...

Dismissal for Lack of Prosecution Averted, But Just Barely

Baskett v. Cheung, 422 N.J. Super. 377 (App. Div. 2011). The facts of this case, detailed in the opinion of Judge Harris for this appellate panel, were about as egregious as they come....

How Long Does a Defendant Have to Remove a Case to Federal Court?

Delalla v. Hanover Insurance, 660 F.3d 180 (3d Cir. 2011). The federal removal statute, 28 U.S.C. §1446(b), obligates a defendant who wishes to remove to federal court a case filed in state...

Failure to Provide Trial Court's Supplemental Opinion to Appellate Division Dooms Appeal

Raspavolo v. New Jersey State Police, 2011 WL 2848475 (App. Div. Sept. 20, 2011). Plaintiff appealed the January 22, 2010 denial of his motion to vacate a previously entered dismissal of...

Don't Count Your Chickens ….

Today's Star-Ledger contained an obituary of Elizabeth Bernoskie. She was the widow of Rahway police officer Charles Bernoskie, who was killed in the line of duty in 1958. Forty years...

Supply the Full Trial Transcript or You Will Lose Your Appeal

Cable v. Rodig, 2011 WL 3425570 (App. Div. Aug. 8, 2011). In order for an appellate court to understand what happened below, and to review those goings-on, the appellate court...

New Jersey Appellate Rule Amendments Effective September 1, 2011

The Supreme Court of New Jersey has adopted changes to two appellate rules. Both changes will go into effect on September 1, 2011. First, the list of judgments deemed to...

Submitting a Certification in Support of a Motion to Dismiss a Complaint Converts The Motion to a Summary Judgment Motion

Raverta v. Lake Mohawk Golf Club, 2011 WL 3207945 (App. Div. July 29, 2011). Rule 4:6-2(e) allows a defendant to move to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim....

Appellate Jurisdiction and the Duty of Candor to the Court– All in a Four-Page Opinion

K.L.G. v. D.M.., 2011 WL 2321404 (App. Div. June 29, 2011). Rule 2:9-1(a) provides that once a notice of appeal is filed, "supervision and control" of the case pass to the...

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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....