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

Appellate Courts Can Decline to Review Arguments Made Below as to Other Issues, But Not as to the Issue Actually on Appeal

Chirino v. Proud 2 Haul, Inc., 458 N.J. Super. 308 (App. Div. 2017), aff'd o.b., 237 N.J. 440 (2019). There is a long-settled general rule that an appellate court will...

Two Cases About Access to Swimming

Susko v. Borough of Belmar, 458 N.J. Super. 583 (App. Div. 2019); Curto v. A Country Place Condominium Association, 921 F.3d 405 (3d Cir. 2019). Yesterday, while I was in...

The Appellate Division Must Adhere to Supreme Court Precedents, Despite Contrary Appellate Division Authority

Liberty Mutual Insurance v. Rodriguez, 458 N.J. Super. 515 (App. Div. 2019). This short opinion by Judge Firko today involved how to calculate reimbursement to an insurer for its workers'...

Waiver, Forfeiture, the Plain Error Doctrine, and the "Third Circuit Model Jury Instructions"

Robinson v. First State Community Action Agency, 920 F.3d 182 (3d Cir. 2019). This opinion by Judge Fuentes today affirms a plaintiff's verdict in a jury trial under the Americans...

Thirteen Years Since Perez v. Rent-A-Center

On March 15, 2006, the Supreme Court decided Perez v. Rent-A-Center, 186 N.J. 188 (2006). By a 6-1 vote, with Justice Rivera-Soto issuing a partial dissent, the Court held in...

Filing a Criminal Complaint as a Means of Collecting on an Invoice is an Unconscionable Commercial Practice That Warrants Attorneys' Fees Under the Consumer Fraud Act

Jacobs v. Lindsay and Son Plumbing and Heating, Inc., 458 N.J. Super. 194 (App. Div. 2019). The defendant in this appeal, Mark Lindsay and Son Plumbing & Heating, Inc. ("MLSP")...

After a Lull, The Supreme Court Grants Review in Six Cases

It had been nearly one month, since January 18, 2019, since the Supreme Court last added cases to its docket. However, the Court has now announced grants of certification in...

Fee for Filing Documents Electronically in a County Register's Office Was Not Authorized by Statute or Otherwise

New Jersey Land Title Association v. Rone, 458 N.J. Super. 120 (App. Div. 2019). May a County Register or Clerk charge a surcharge or convenience fee when a document is...

A New Test for Defining "Merchandise" Under the Consumer Fraud Act

All the Way Towing, LLC v. Bucks County International, Inc., 236 N.J. 431 (2019). Plaintiffs (an individual and his company, treated as one plaintiff here) purchased a customized tow truck...

The Supreme Court Grants Certification in Five Cases

Late last Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in five more cases. There are four civil appeals and one criminal matter. The criminal case is actually...

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With the Appellate Division's Recess Over, The Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week is Another Waiver of Arbitration Case

On Tuesday, April 29, judges on Part F of the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Newport Associates Development Co. v. Chubb Ins. Co. The appeal arises out of the denial by the Law Division of the motion of defendant AIG Specialty Insurance Company ("ASIC") to compel arbitration of plaintiffs' claim for indemnity in connection with underlying litigation with Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. and Public Service Electric and Gas Company. The Law Division held that ASIC had waived its contractual right to demand arbitration....

Another Quartet of New Cases for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in four new appeals. Three are from unpublished opinions of the Appellate Division, while the fourth is from a published decision in a criminal case....

A Recess for the Appellate Division, and for This Blog

The Appellate Division is in a recess this week and next. No oral arguments will occur during that period....

Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week: Has the School Funding Reform Act Denied Lakewood Public School Students the Constitutionally-Required "Thorough and Efficient" Education?

On Tuesday, April 8, judges on Part D will hear oral argument in Alcantar v. Allen-McMillan, a case filed in 2014 in which the Appellate Division has ruled before, 475 N.J. Super. 56 (App. Div. 2023). This appeal follows on the Appellate Division's prior ruling, unappealed by the State...