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

Another Accutane Decision, and a Big Win for Plaintiffs

, 451 N.J. Super. 153 (App. Div. 2017). [Disclosure: I was one of the counsel who argued this appeal for the successful plaintiffs]. This must be Accutane week. On Tuesday,...

Defendant Who Fails to Timely Serve Notice of Tort Claim Cannot Sue Public Entity for Contribution or Common Law Indemnification

Jones v. Morey's Pier, Inc., 230 N.J. 142 (2017). Under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:8-8, a tort plaintiff who fails to timely serve a notice of tort...

Accutane Plaintiffs Overcome the "Super-Presumption" That FDA-Approved Warnings About Drugs are Adequate

In re Accutane Litig., 2017 WL 3138003 (App. Div. July 25, 2017). [Disclosure: I argued for the successful plaintiffs in one of these two consolidated appeals, the one that involved...

Life Estates in Real Property Are Subject to Principles of Equitable Subrogation

Ocwen Loan Services, LLC v. Quinn, 450 N.J. Super. 393 (App. Div. 2017). The doctrine of equitable subrogation provides that "a refinancing lender whose security turns out to be defective...

A Res Ipsa Loquitur Case for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in McDaid v. Aztec West Condominium Association. The question presented in that appeal, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's...

No Property Tax Exemption for Disabled Veteran Whose Injuries Did Not Occur "In a Theater of Operation"

Fisher v. City of Millville, 450 N.J. Super. 610 (App. Div. 2017). Article VIII, section 1, paragraph 3 of the New Jersey Constitution allows the Legislature to enact legislation that...

"Reasonable Expectations of the Insured" Did Not Defeat Clear Policy Exclusion of "Insured vs. Insured" Claims

Abboud v. National Union Fire Ins. Co., 450 N.J. Super. 400 (App. Div. 2017). This opinion by Judge Ostrer interpreted an "insured vs. insured" exclusion in a directors and officers...

Standing, Attorneys' Fees, Disability, and Search and Seizure: The Latest Cases for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has granted review in four more cases. In Cherokee LCP Land, LLC v. City of Linden Planning Bd., the question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court...

Plaintiffs' Creative Arguments Did Not Overcome the Language of Insurance Policies That Precluded Coverage

Gil v. Clara Maass Medical Center, 450 N.J. Super. 368 (App. Div. 2017). This was a medical malpractice case. The appeal, however, resulted from the Law Division's grant of summary...

State Comptroller Need Not Give Reasons for Auditing Local Government Units

Larkins v. Solter, 450 N.J. Super. 519 (App. Div. 2017). The Office of the State Comptroller ("OSC") was established by the Legislature in 2007, in order to subject governmental financial...

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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....