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

President Biden Nominates Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to the Third Circuit

President Biden has nominated Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves of the Supreme Court of Delaware for a seat on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Appointed to the Delaware Supreme Court in...

Tinted Windows and Automobile Stops

State v. Smith, 251 N.J. 244 (2022). Here is how Justice Solomon began his opinion for a unanimous Court in this case today: "N.J.S.A. 39:3-74 prohibits operation of a vehicle...

Parties That Behaved Wrongfully Could Not Demand Marketability Discount in Shareholder Buyout Case

Sipko v. Koger, Inc., ___ N.J. ___ (2022). This is the second time that this intra-family business divorce case came before the Supreme Court. The first iteration, which dates back...

Three Supreme Court Decisions in Criminal Cases

The last few days have seen three opinions by the Supreme Court in criminal appeals. Here are summaries of those decisions: State v. Rivas, 251 N.J. 132 (2022). This opinion...

The Appellate Division Decides the First COVID-19 Business Interruption Cases in Favor of Insurers

Mac Property Group, LLC v. Selective Fire & Cas. Ins. Co. , 473 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2022). [Disclosure: I am counsel for insureds in another appeal regarding the...

Two Compassionate Releases Get Put on the Fast Track at the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in two new cases, State v. A.M. and State v. Oliver. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's...

Three Published Appellate Division Decisions

The last several days have seen some interesting published opinions by the Appellate Division. Here are summaries of three of them: Petro v. Platkin, 472 N.J. Super. 536 (App. Div....

Common Law Rescue Doctrine Does Not Extend to Rescue of Property, as Opposed to People

Samolyk v. Berthe, 251 N.J. 732 (2022). As discussed here, this case involved a set of facts in which one of the plaintiffs jumped into a lagoon to rescue their...

No Need for Three-Day Attorney Review Clause in Absolute Auction Sale of Residential Real Estate

Sullivan v. Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co., 251 N.J. 45 (2022). In an opinion reported at 465 N.J. Super. 243 (App. Div. 2020), and discussed here, the Appellate...

Four New Grants of Certification by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in four new cases. Three of those matters are criminal appeals, one of which involves a published Appellate Division opinion. The...

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A Municipal Court Administrator is Employed by the Township, Not the Administrative Office of the Courts

Palmisano v. State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The opening paragraph of Judge Marczyk's opinion for the Appellate Division well encapsulates what the appeal was about and what the result was. "Plaintiff Lindsay Palmisano appeals from the trial court's April 1, 2024 order dismissing her complaint with prejudice against defendant State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts and Municipal Division (AOC) pursuant to Rule 4:6-2(e). The primary issue on appeal is whether plaintiff, a municipal court administrator, is an employee of the AOC, thereby allowing her to assert a claim against the AOC under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49. Based on our review of the record and the applicable legal principles, we conclude plaintiff was employed by Vernon Township (Township), not the AOC, and, therefore, we affirm."...

Supreme Court to Take Up Two Published Appellate Division Opinions

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in two new appeals. One is before the Court on leave to appeal. The Court granted certification in the other matter....

South Seaside Park Can Detach Itself From Berkeley Township

Whiteman v. Township Council of Berkeley Township, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). South Seaside Park is a small (490 year-round residents) barrier island community that has been annexed to the Township of Berkeley ("the Township"). South Seaside Park sought to deannex itself from the Township and to be annexed instead to the Borough of Seaside Park. South Seaside Park followed a statutory petitioning procedure in doing so. The Township refused consent. South Seaside Park went to court and won a ruling from the Law Division that rejected the Township's refusal. The Appellate Division affirmed. Yesterday, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Patterson, the Supreme Court affirmed as well....

Megan's Law "Not Likely to Pose a Threat to the Safety of Others" Extends to Non-Sexual as Well as Sexual Re-Offenses

In re Registrant S.O., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). This appeal presented a pure legal issue relating to the "public safety prongs" contained in the termination provisions of Megan's Law, N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2(f), and the Community Supervision for Life statute ("CSL"), N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.4(c). Judge Vanek crystallized that "novel" issue as "whether, on a registrant's application to terminate Megan's Law and CSL obligations, the phrase ‘not likely to pose a threat to the safety of others' should be broadly interpreted with the trial court considering threats to safety from subsequent non-sexual and sexual offenses or whether the inquiry should be limited to the threat of sexual re-offense only." The panel held that the broader view was the correct one....