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

The TCCWNA and Towing Companies

Pisack v. B&C Towing, Inc., 455 N.J. Super. 225 (App. Div. 2018). This decision by Judge Gilson today in three consolidated appeals implicates the Predatory Towing Prevention Act, N.J.S.A. 56:13-7...

Slightly Different Facts Produce Opposite Results in Two Somewhat Similar Cases

Bowser v. Board of Trustees, Police and Firemens Retirement System, 455 N.J. Super. 165 (App. Div. 2018); Mattia v. Board of Trustees, Police and Firemens Retirement System, 455 N.J. Super....

OPRA Requires Disclosure of the Names of Successful Bidders at Public Auctions of Government Property

Brennan v. Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, 233 N.J. 330 (2018). This opinion by Chief Justice Rabner, for a unanimous Supreme Court, addressed an issue that arose under the Open Public...

OPRA Requestor Rights are Not Limited to Citizens of New Jersey

Scheeler v. Atlantic County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund, 454 N.J. Super. 621 (App. Div. 2018). This opinion by Judge Reisner was yet another case (actually, consolidated cases, which reached different...

When Does the FDCPA Statute of Limitations Begin to Run? The Circuit Courts Now Disagree.

Rotkiske v. Klemm, 890 F.3d 422 (3d Cir. 2018). The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §1692 et seq. ("FDCPA"), states that an action to enforce liability thereunder may...

Unemployment Benefits, Suppression of Evidence, and the Alleged Improper Exercise of Peremptory Challenges Based on Race Come Before the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in two more cases. The first, Blake v. Board of Review, was discussed here. Since the Court had previously granted review...

Digging Out

This past Monday, I argued two appeals in the Supreme Court of New Jersey. They were the Accutane matters discussed and . In the period leading up to those arguments,...

Some Clarity on the Substantive Provisions of the TCCWNA

Spade v. Select Comfort Corp., 232 N.J. 504 (2018). [Disclosure: My partner Susana Cruz Hodge and I submitted an amicus curiae brief in support of the plaintiffs in this case,...

46 Years Ago Today, the Supreme Court Reconsidered and Amended Its Ruling

Unsuccessful litigants sometimes try to persuade appellate courts to reconsider and amend or reverse their decisions. Rarely does that succeed. On this day in 1972, however, the Supreme Court, acting...

When It's All About the Dicta

City Select Auto Sales, Inc. v. David Randall Associates, Inc., 885 F.3d 154 (3d Cir. 2018). This Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") case, involving unwanted faxes, was tried to a...

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The Week Just Ending: Three Criminal Law Decisions

This week saw one case decided by the Supreme Court and two published opinions of the Appellate Division. The Supreme Court case, decided by a 6-1 vote, presented an ex post facto issue arising out of amendments to the statute governing parole. The two Appellate Division decisions entailed more "core" criminal law issues. Here are summaries of those cases:...

The 2025 Omnibus Court Rule Amendments and Other Changes

The Supreme Court announced amendments to Court Rules and appendices, as well as certain other procedural changes. That announcement is embodied in an Omnibus Rule Amendment Order that is available here....

"Abuse of Discretion" vs. "Patent and Gross Abuse of Discretion"

State v. Taylor, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), a part of the Graves Act, makes the use or possession of a firearm during the commission, attempted commission, or flight from the commission of certain designated offenses a sentencing factor that triggers the imposition of a mandatory term of imprisonment. A later-added section of the Graves Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.2, creates an "escape valve," under which a prosecutor may seek from the court a waiver of the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence where the prosecutor believes that such a sentence would not serve the interest of justice....

A "Swan Song" for a False Light Invasion of Privacy Claim on Statute of Limitations Grounds

Chipola v. Flannery, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). As discussed here, this case was one of two that the Supreme Court agreed to review in its first grants of review of the current Term. The question presented was "Does a claim alleging false light invasion of privacy have a one-year statute of limitations, see Swan v. Boardwalk Regency Corp., 407 N.J. Super. 108 (App. Div 2009)?" Today, agreeing with the Law Division and the Appellate Division, the Supreme Court answered "yes."...