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

Can an Agency Respond to an OPRA Request by Neither Confirming Nor Denying That Requested Documents Exist?

North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2016). The answer to the question posed in the caption of this post is,...

Claims of Non-Debtors Alleging Harm From Filing of Involuntary Bankruptcy of Debtor are Not Preempted by the Bankruptcy Code

Rosenberg v. DVI Receivables XVII, LLC, 835 F.3d 414 (3d Cir. 2016). As Judge Ambro noted in his opinion in this case today, an involuntary bankruptcy is one that is...

When Both Sides Claim to be a "Prevailing Party" Entitled to Attorneys' Fees

Raab v. City of Ocean City, 833 F.3d 286 (3d Cir. 2016). In this case under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §1983, both plaintiff and the defendant municipality claimed...

The Discovery Rule is Applied to Common Law and Consumer Fraud Act Claims

Catena v. Raytheon Company, 447 N.J. Super. 43 (App. Div. 2016). The time when a cause of action accrues, for purposes of triggering the statute of limitations, is a recurring...

When Can an LLC Expel a Member?

IE Test, LLC v. Carroll, 226 N.J. 166 (2016). Until it was superseded by the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, N.J.S.A. 42:2C-1 to -94 ("RULLCA"), on March 18, 2013,...

"Insurance Coverage and Undersized Broiler Chickens"

Phibro Animal Health Corp. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., 446 N.J. Super. 419 (App. Div. 2016). When it comes to whatever the judicial opinion equivalent is of "click-bait," few...

Another Mount Laurel Case for the Supreme Court?

In re Declaratory Judgment Actions Filed by Various Municipalities, 446 N.J. Super. 259 (App. Div. 2016). It has been 41 years since the Supreme Court issued its original Mount Laurel...

Child Pornography and Collateral Estoppel

Doe v. Hesketh, 828 F.3d 159 (3d Cir. 2016). Today, the Third Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Greenaway, ruled in a case of a child victim of federal crimes...

Twenty One Day Advance Voter Registration Requirement is Held Constitutional

Rutgers University Student Assembly v. Middlesex Cty. Bd. of Elections, 446 N.J. Super. 221 (App. Div. 2016). This appeal involved the constitutionality of N.J.S.A. 19:31-6.3b, which requires eligible voters to...

No Need for a Law Firm LLP to Have "Tail" Insurance, Says the Supreme Court

Mortgage Grader, Inc. v. Ward & Olivo, LLP, 225 N.J. 423 (2016). Justice Fernandez-Vina issued an opinion in this legal malpractice appeal today, his first opinion in quite some time,...

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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....