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

Intra-State Relocation by a Divorced Parent, and Contempt for Unauthorized Moves

A.J. v. R.J., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2019). This opinion by Judge Mawla involved a primary custodial parent (plaintiff) who, due to a rent increase at her Elizabeth...

A "Pennysaver" Anniversary

On this date in 1984, the Supreme Court decided two cases, Fairlawn Shopper, Inc. v. Director, Div. of Taxation, 98 N.J. 64 (1984), and Today Newspapers, Inc. v. Director, Div....

No Regulatory or Common Law Duty for Landlord to Cover Radiator With Insulating Material in Order to Avoid Injury to Tenant

J.H. v. R&M Tagliereni, LLC, 239 N.J. 198 (2019). [There was the potential of a guest post regarding this case, but that did not pan out. That's the reason for...

RPC 3.7- Attorneys as Witnesses

Escobar v. Mazie, 460 N.J. Super. 520 (App. Div. 2019). This appeal arose out of an order disqualifying every attorney at the law firm of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman,...

Still Fighting Over Dugan v. TGI Friday's

Cameron v. South Jersey Pubs, Inc., 460 N.J. Super. 156 (App. Div. 2019). As discussed here, in Dugan v. TGI Friday's, Inc., 231 N.J. 24 (2017), the Supreme Court rendered...

Administrative agency actions Justice Faustino Fernandez-Vina

Certain Underwriters at Lloyds Subscribing to Policy PLH-0013397 v. Public Service Electric and Gas, 459 N.J. Super. 436 (App. Div. 2019). Judge Fisher's opinion in this appeal today was barely...

Judge Gilson Clarifies the Work Product Privilege

Paladino v. Auletta Enterprises, Inc., 459 N.J. Super. 365 (App. Div. 2019). The work product privilege, or "work product doctrine," as it is also sometimes labeled, was first recognized by...

No New Trial for Plaintiff Who Strategically Did Not Object to Trial Testimony That Was Inconsistent With Discovery Responses

T.L. v. Goldberg, 238 N.J. 218 (2019). The issue in this medical malpractice case was whether plaintiff was entitled to a new trial because defendant, without objection by plaintiff, offered...

This Kind of "STOLI" is Against New Jersey's Public Policy

Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 238 N.J. 157 (2019). This appeal came to the Supreme Court via questions certified by the Third Circuit Court...

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is Subject to New Jersey Arbitration Statutes

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey v. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Benevolent Ass'n, 459 N.J. Super. 278 (App. Div. 2019). Today's...

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The "Limited Attorney Exemption" of the Debt Adjustment and Credit Counseling Act is Held Unconstitutional as Violative of the Separation of Powers and Void for Vagueness

Anchor Law Firm, PLLC v. State of New Jersey, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The Debt Adjustment and Credit Counseling Act, N.J.S.A. 17:16G-1 et seq. ("DACCA"), prohibits debt adjusters in New Jersey from operating for a profit. There is an exception for attorneys not "principally engaged" (a term not defined in the statute) in debt adjustment. That exception, adopted in a 1986 amendment, replaced a prior version of the DACCA that had exempted all attorneys from its scope....

Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week: Where a Party Files a Suit Alleged to Violate the UPEPA But Quickly Dismisses It, Can Defendants Then Get Counsel Fees Under the Statute?

On May 15, judges on Part C of the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Satz v. Keshet Starr. Plaintiff, acting pro se, filed a defamation suit against defendants. Defendants filed an o order to show cause to dismiss the case and for attorneys' fees under the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-49 et seq. ("UPEPA"). The UPEPA, enacted in 2023, sought to make it more difficult to use the legal system as a weapon to bully individuals into silence by filing what have been known as SLAPP ("strategic lawsuits against public participation") suits....

"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....