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

The First Half of August- Supreme Court Decisions in Civil Cases

Following up on yesterday's post regarding criminal appeals decided by the Supreme Court in the first half of August, this post summarizes the Court's decisions in civil cases during that...

The First Half of August- Supreme Court Decisions in Criminal Cases

Due to a combination of factors, there have been no posts on this blog in the first half of August. This post will begin the catch-up process by summarizing the...

"510(k)" Evidence Was Improperly Excluded in Products Liability Matters, Requiring New Trial

Hrymoc v. Ethicon, Inc., 254 N.J. 446 (2023). As explained in more detail here, this was a products liability case involving "pelvic mesh" devices. (Actually, there were two consolidated cases,...

Plaintiffs Can Seek to Be Accompanied to a Defense Medical Examination by a Third Person or to Record the Examination, and (Contrary to the Appellate Division) Plaintiffs Do Not Bear the Burden of Pro

DiFiore v. Pezic, 254 N.J. 212 (2023). [Disclosure: Catherine B. Derenze, my colleague at Lite DePalma Greenberg & Afanador, LLC, argued before the Supreme Court in this case on behalf...

Governor Murphy Nominates Michael Noriega to the Supreme Court

Today, Governor Murphy announced his nomination of Michael Noriega to the Supreme Court. He would fill the seat that was vacated when Justice Albin reached the mandatory retirement age of...

Justice Wainer Apter's First Opinion

W.S. v. Hildreth, 252 N.J. 506 (2023). This unanimous opinion was Justice Wainer Apter's first. As is traditional for a Justice's first-ever opinion, it was unanimous. As summarized here, this...

The Last Seven Days

The last seven days, an especially busy period for me, featured one Supreme Court opinion and two published Appellate Division decisions. Here are summaries of those rulings:...

No Ethics Violation in Attorney Purchasing Another Attorney's Name as a Keyword for Internet Searches, the Supreme Court Says, With a Caveat

In re Opinion No. 735 of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). [Disclosure: I represented an amicus curiae in this appeal]. As Justice Noriega said in his opinion for a 5-1 majority (Justice Pierre-Louis did not participate), this appeal "presents the narrow question of whether it is permissible under the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) for an attorney or law firm to purchase a competing attorney's or law firm's name as a keyword." The Court found it permissible, with a caveat. Justice Fasciale dissented....

Four Criminal Law Cases, and a Qui Tam Appeal, for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in five new appeals. One of them is before the Court on leave to appeal, while in the others the Court granted certification....

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....