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

When is a Defendant Entitled to Notice of a Request for Default?

Midland Funding, LLC v. Albern, 433 N.J. Super. 494 (App. Div. 2013). "[I]s a defendant, who, in responding to a complaint, moved for dismissal but did not file an answer...

"Arbitrary, Capricious, or Unreasonable" Test Applies to Judicial Review of Administrative Agency Actions, Whether "Quasi-Judicial" or "Quasi-Legislative"

In re Proposed Quest Academy Charter School, 216 N.J. 370 (2013). In this unanimous opinion, fittingly written by Justice LaVecchia given her Office of Administrative Law background, the Supreme Court...

Appeals About Issues Decided by State Agency Must Go to the Appellate Division, Not the Law Division

Beaver v. Magellan Health Services, Inc.. 433 N.J. Super. 430 (App. Div. 2013). "Under what circumstances may a litigant pursue common law and statutory causes of action in the Law...

New Amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure

Effective December 1, 2013, amendments to several Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure ("FRAP") became effective. There are changes, all of which relate to appeals from the United States Tax Court,...

Ignorance of the Rules Does Not Constitute Excusable Neglect

Eastman v. First Data Corp., 736 F.3d 675 (3d Cir. 2013). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f) permits the losing party on a motion to certify a class, whether plaintiff...

The Requirement of Findings and Conclusions by Trial Level Judges

There are many, many decisions, including this published ruling by Judge Lihotz, that implement the directive of Rule 1:7-4 that a trial judge "shall, by an opinion or memorandum decision, either...

Rule 2:11-3(e)(1)(E)- The "That's Ridiculous" Rule

Most judges dislike briefs that assert that an adversary's legal argument is "ridiculous," "absurd," "preposterous," or the like. Judges often say that a statement that an opposing position is "without...

Delaware Chancery Court's State-Sponsored Arbitration Program is Held Unconstitutional

Delaware Coalition for Open Government, Inc. v. Strine, 733 F.3d 510 (3d Cir. 2013). It is rare that judges, and a court, are defendants in a lawsuit. It is even...

A Primer About the Attorney-Client Privilege

Hedden v. Kean University, 434 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2013). This interlocutory appeal, which resulted in a 2-1 decision by the Appellate Division, involved issues of attorney-client privilege. In an...

CEPA and "Watchdog" Employees

Lippman v. Ethicon, Inc., 432 N.J. Super. 378 (App. Div. 2013). Today's opinion under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 34:19-1 to -8 ("CEPA"), written by Judge Fuentes, reversed a summary...

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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....