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

Offers of Judgment and High-Low Agreements

Serico v. Rothberg, 448 N.J. Super. 604 (App. Div. 2017). In this medical malpractice case, plaintiff and defendant entered into a "high-low" agreement while awaiting a jury verdict. As Judge...

Two Issues Under the Open Public Meetings Act

Kean Federation of Teachers v. Morell, 448 N.J. Super. 520 (App. Div. 2017). As a public body, Kean University's Board of Trustees is subject to the Open Public Meetings Act,...

Judge Barry Steps Away

The Associated Press has reported that Judge Barry has decided to go on inactive status. According to Chief Judge Smith, Judge Barry will be giving up her chambers and staff....

Judge Carol E. Higbee (1950-2017)

Judge Carol E. Higbee, who has been an Appellate Division judge for two years and, before that, a trial level judge in Atlantic County for 21 years, died on January...

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...

Volunteer Emergency Medical Technician is Not a "Public Servant" for Purposes of the Official Misconduct Statute

State v. Morrison, 227 N.J. 295 (2016). In today's unanimous opinion by Justice Albin, the issue was whether a volunteer emergency medical technician ("EMT") is a "public servant" who can...

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...

"On the Road Again": The Appellate Division Will Hear Arguments in Freehold Next Week

The Appellate Division normally hears oral arguments in Newark, Trenton, Hackensack, and Morristown. Every so often, however, the Appellate Division takes its show on the road to other venues. Today,...

Two Appellate Division Judges are Nominated for Tenure

Governor Christie has nominated eighteen judges for tenure after their initial seven-year terms. Two of those judges currently sit in the Appellate Division. They are judges Gibbons Whipple and Vernoia....

Three More Cases for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that three more cases have been added to its docket. State v. Carrero, Jr. is before the Court by virtue of a dissent in the Appellate...

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The Supreme Court Clarifies New Jersey's Automobile Exception to the Requirement of a Search Warrant

State v. Fenimore, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Both the United States and New Jersey Constitutions protect the people against "unreasonable searches and seizures" and prohibit the issuance of search warrants without "probable cause." Both federal and New Jersey law, however, recognize an "automobile exception" to the warrant requirement. But New Jersey's automobile exception is narrower than the federal exception, as the Supreme Court stated in State v. Witt, 223 N.J. 409 (2015). Today, the Supreme Court ruled that the Appellate Division in this case had interpreted Witt too broadly in reversing a Law Division decision to exclude evidence from a warrantless search. The Supreme Court reversed and excluded the evidence....

"Liberal Standards" for Standing "Are Not Equivalent to No Standards At All," the Supreme Court Says

New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., ___ N.J. ___ (2025). As Justice Pierre-Louis observed in her opinion for a unanimous Court in this case today, New Jersey state courts have long "take[n] a more liberal approach to standing than federal law." But in this appeal, the statute sued upon, the Franchise Practices Act, N.J.S.A. 56:10-1 et seq. ("FPA"), stated that only a "franchisee" could sue its franchisor. Because plaintiff here ("NJCAR") was not a franchisee but an association of franchisees, NJCAR lacked standing to bring a FPA case....

Compassionate Release Act Does Not Require Physical Examination of Inmates Seeking Relief, But Denial of Relief in This Case Was Arbitrary and Capricious

M.R. v. New Jersey Department of Corrections, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Plaintiff appealed the denial of his petition for release under the Compassionate Release Act, N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.51 ("CRA"). He argued that he had not been physically examined by a physician, and that the statute required a physical examination. The Appellate Division determined that the statute did not require a physical examination and upheld the denial of compassionate release. Today, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Hoffman, the Supreme Court agreed that no physical examination was required, but reversed the denial of compassionate relief as insupportable....

Prosecutor's Prejudicial Comments During Summation Required Vacation of Conviction on Weapons and Criminal Restraint Charges

State v. Kelly, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). Judge Gummer wrote the panel's opinion in this case. The panel reversed defendant's conviction on weapons and criminal restraint charges, based on a set of facts remarkably similar to those in State v. Daniels, 182 N.J. 80 (2004)....