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

The Supreme Court Adds Two Cases Involving Schools

The Supreme Court announced that it will review two new cases. One is at the Court as of right, due to a dissent in the Appellate Division. The Court granted...

No Cause of Action for "Negligent Identification as a Suspect"

Morris v. T.D. Bank, 454 N.J. Super. 203 (App. Div. 2018). This case arose out of a robbery at a T.D. Bank in Union, New Jersey. Plaintiff, an African-American man,...

In Construing Wills and Trusts, "Plain Meaning" of Language Gives Way to "Testator's Probable Intent"

In re Trust of Violet Nelson, 454 N.J. Super. 151 (App. Div. 2018). As Judge Ostrer stated in his opinion in this case today, the issue was "whether a trial...

Allocation Among Multiple Defendants of Attorneys' Fees Under Fee-Shifting Statutes

Empower our Neighborhoods v. Guadagno, 453 N.J. Super. 565 (App. Div. 2018). This was an election case under the federal and New Jersey civil rights acts, both of which provide...

The Supreme Court Will Re-Visit Health Club Waivers of Liability

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in Pulice v. Greenbrook Sports & Fitness, LLC. The question presented in that appeal, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's...

Absolute vs. Qualified Immunity Under the Tort Claims Act

Lee v. Brown, 232 N.J. 114 (2018). [Disclosure: My firm, Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC, represented certain defendants in this case who were dismissed from the case on motion prior to...

Foreclosure Defendant May Not Fail to Pursue a Germane Defense and Then Sue for Fraud by Foreclosure

Adelman v. BSI Fin. Services, 453 N.J. Super. 31 (App. Div. 2018). This case, which was the subject of Judge Koblitz's decision today, arose out of a foreclosure action. Plaintiff,...

The First Step Toward Rejection of a Dubious Consumer Fraud Act Defense

All the Way Towing, LLC v. Bucks County International, Inc., 452 N.J. Super. 565 (App. Div. 2018). Today's opinion by Judge Fisher reaffirms a fundamental principle: on summary judgment, a...

A Split Appellate Division Decision About the Charitable Immunity Act: On to the Supreme Court?

Green v. Monmouth University, 452 N.J. Super. 542 (App. Div. 2018). Today's opinion by Judge Leone affirmed summary judgment in favor of defendant Monmouth University under the Charitable Immunity Act,...

Failure to Submit Affidavit of Merit Timely Does Not Always Call for Dismissal With Prejudice

A.T v. M. Cohen, M.D., 231 N.J. 237 (2017). "This was an appeal as of right in a medical malpractice case in which plaintiff was a minor. Due to counsel's...

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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....

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....