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

Retail Installment Sales Act Applies to Health Club Memberships

Sanchez v. Fitness Factory Edgewater, LLC, 242 N.J. 252 (2020). In Mellet v. Aquasid, LLC, 453 N.J. Super. 23 (App. Div. 2017), the Appellate Division ruled that the Retail Installment...

When is an Ordinance a "Zoning Ordinance"?

Shipyard Associates, L.P. v. City of Hoboken, 242 N.J. 23 (2020). [Disclosure: My firm, Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC, represents the City of Hoboken and certain of its agencies and officials...

"Proliferate and Exceedingly Intimate" Text Messages Can Amount to a "Dating Relationship" That Supports Issuance of a Restraining Order

C.C. v. J.A.H., 463 N.J. Super. 419 (App. Div. 2020). The Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, N.J.S.A. 2C;25-17 et seq., allows the issuance of a restraining order for the protection...

In Vehicular Homicide Case, Decedent's Conduct, Which Cannot be Raised as a Defense, Must be Considered as a Mitigating Factor in Sentencing

State v. Pascucci, 463 N.J. Super. 203 (App. Div. 2020). The strict liability vehicular homicide statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5.3d, provides that "[i]t shall not be a defense to a prosecution under...

State Medicaid-Related Regulation Voided by the Appellate Division as Inconsistent With State Statute

G.C. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, 463 N.J. Super. 79 (App. Div. 2020). Appellate review of an administrative agency regulation "begins with a presumption that the [Regulation...

The Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination

Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc., 241 N.J. 285 (2020). In this case, as discussed here, the Appellate Division reversed a trial level decision that had granted dismissal of plaintiff's...

Breaking the Silence

February 26 was the most recent post on this blog. From then until today, I have had an Appellate Division oral argument, an oral argument on a dispositive motion in...

A 3-2 Supreme Court Decision About the "Deemer" Statute

Felix v. Richards, 241 N.J. 169 (2020). This ruling of the Supreme Court today saw only five Justices participating since Justices Patterson and Timpone were recused. The remaining five Justices...

Wins for Plaintiffs in Two OPRA Cases

Digital First Media v. Ewing Tp., 462 N.J. Super. 389 (App. Div. 2020); Bozzi v. Borough of Roselle Park, 462 N.J. Super. 415 (App. Div. 2020). Today, Judge Sumners issued...

Why Do We Still Have "Unpublished" Appellate Division Opinions?

State v. Thompson, 462 N.J. Super. 370 (App. Div. 2020). Judge Fisher, in this ruling issued today in a DWI case, "readily acknowledge[d] this opinion expresses nothing new." One might...

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"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....

The "Castle Doctrine"

State v. Bragg, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). A jury found defendant guilty of twelve charged counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering, and two lesser-included offenses of harassment. Some of those charges involved the use of deadly force. Persons may not use deadly force if the can retreat with complete safety. But under the "castle doctrine," an exception to the general rule, a person "is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling, unless he was the initial aggressor." N.J.S.A. 2C:3-4(b)(2)(b)(i). That doctrine derives from the common law....

No Arbitrariness in Rejection of Public Construction Bid That Failed to Include a Properly Signed, Required Consent of Surety

In the Matter of Protest Filed by El Sol Contracting and Construction Corp., Contract T100.638, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). This public bidding case resulted in a 5-2 split at the Supreme Court, the first non-unanimous ruling of the current Term. Justice Hoffman wrote the majority opinion, while Justice Fasciale authored the dissent for himself and Justice Pierre-Louis....