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

Fee Awards Under Consumer Statutes Can Go Beyond the Extent of a Plaintiff's Success On His or Her Complaint

DeGarmeaux v. DNV Concepts, Inc., 448 N.J. Super. 148 (App. Div. 2016). As Judge Manahan stated in his opinion for the Appellate Division in this case, "[t]he issue of reasonbleness...

Rule 11 Sanctions Are Not to be Imposed for Minor Alleged Offenses

Moeck v. Pleasant Valley School District, 844 F.3d 387 (3d Cir. 2016). Motions for sanctions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 are not favored because, as Judge Shwartz pointed...

Tax Credits for a Disabled Child vs. Tax Deductions for Such a Child

Polsky v. United States, 844 F.3d 170 (3d Cir. 2016). Plaintiffs are the parents of a permanently disabled daughter. They claimed a child tax credit on two years' federal tax...

Avoiding an Absurd Result in a Statute of Limitations Case Under the Survivor Act

Warren v. Muenzen, 448 N.J. Super. 52 (App. Div. 2016). A 2009 amendment to the Survivor Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-3, included language that "[e]very action brought under this chapter shall be commenced...

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...

Another New Justice is Launched: Justice Timpone's First Opinion

State v. Bryant, 227 N.J. 60 (2016). As has been noted before, a new Justice's first opinion is customarily a unanimous one in a relatively uncomplicated case. Today, Justice Timpone...

No Valid Settlement With DEP Absent Signature and Public Notice of Proposed Settlement

Cumberland Farms, Inc. v. New Jersey Dep't of Environmental Protection, 447 N.J. Super. 444 (App. Div. 2016). Plaintiff ("CFI") operates convenience stores and gas stations in many locations in New...

The "Single Publication Rule" and the One-Year Statute of Limitations Bar a Defamation Case

Petro-Lubricant Testing Laboratories, Inc. v. Adelman, 447 N.J. Super. 391 (App. Div. 2016). The "single publication rule" gives a defamation plaintiff "a single cause of action, which arises at the...

Savings as a Component of Alimony

Lombardi v. Lombardi, 447 N.J. Super. 26 (App. Div. 2016). "[A]limony is neither a punishment for the payor nor a reward for the payee…. It is a right arising out...

A "Bleak House" for the 21st Century- Chavez v. Dole Food Co.

Chavez v. Dole Food Co., 836 F.3d 205 (3d Cir. 2016). In the classic Charles Dickens book "Bleak House," the legal case of Jarndyce v. Jarndyce ran for so many...

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The 2025 Omnibus Court Rule Amendments and Other Changes

The Supreme Court announced amendments to Court Rules and appendices, as well as certain other procedural changes. That announcement is embodied in an Omnibus Rule Amendment Order that is available here....

"Abuse of Discretion" vs. "Patent and Gross Abuse of Discretion"

State v. Taylor, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), a part of the Graves Act, makes the use or possession of a firearm during the commission, attempted commission, or flight from the commission of certain designated offenses a sentencing factor that triggers the imposition of a mandatory term of imprisonment. A later-added section of the Graves Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.2, creates an "escape valve," under which a prosecutor may seek from the court a waiver of the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence where the prosecutor believes that such a sentence would not serve the interest of justice....

A "Swan Song" for a False Light Invasion of Privacy Claim on Statute of Limitations Grounds

Chipola v. Flannery, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). As discussed here, this case was one of two that the Supreme Court agreed to review in its first grants of review of the current Term. The question presented was "Does a claim alleging false light invasion of privacy have a one-year statute of limitations, see Swan v. Boardwalk Regency Corp., 407 N.J. Super. 108 (App. Div 2009)?" Today, agreeing with the Law Division and the Appellate Division, the Supreme Court answered "yes."...

What Weapons Offenses Are Subject to the Parole Ineligibility Requirement of the Graves Act?

State v. Cromedy, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). The Graves Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), prescribes a minimum term of incarceration for firearm-related offenses under certain subsections of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5, as well as a mandatory period of parole ineligibility. In this case, the issue was whether a weapons offense conviction of violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(j) is covered by the Graves Act. The Law Division and the Appellate Division each held that it was. The Supreme Court reversed in a unanimous opinion by Justice Noriega....