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

The Standard of Review for Final Certification in Fair Labor Standards Act Cases, and a Caution About Joint Appendices

Zavala v. Wal Mart Stores, Inc.., 691 F.3d 527 (3d Cir. 2012). This Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") decision, written by Judge Smith, rejects a collective action under the FLSA and...

Rutgers Violated Open Public Meetings Act in Some Respects, But That Statute Gave Plaintiff No Remedy

McGovern v. Rutgers, The State University, 211 N.J. 94 (2012). Plaintiff complained that the Board of Governors of Rutgers, The State University, violated the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6...

A "Deadly" Administrative Law Decision

In re Challenge of New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association to Certain N.J.A.C. Amendments, 427 N.J. Super. 268 (App. Div. 2012). This case involved a challenge to amendments to administrative...

Foreign Citizen Whose Admission to the United States Limits Him to a Single Employer is Not "Available for Work" and Eligible for Unemployment Benefits When That Employer Discharges Him

Makutoff v. Board of Review, 427 N.J. Super. 218 (App. Div. 2012). Plaintiff, a Canadian citizen, was employed in this country under a limited work authorization issued by the Department...

Can an Insurer, Suspicious of Insurance Fraud, Require Health Providers Who Seek Reimbursement from the Insurer, to Supply Information About Their Ownership Structure and Billing Practices?

Selective Ins. Co. v. Hudson East Pain Management, 210 N.J. 597 (2012). Defendants provided medical treatment to patients who had personal injury protection ("PIP") insurance through plaintiff ("Selective"). The patients assigned their right to...

Child Support for Children Residing at College

Jacoby v. Jacoby, 427 N.J. Super. 109 (App. Div. 2012). Should child support change because the child has begun to live on campus at a college? Judge Lihotz, writing for the panel...

A Class Action Settlement Class is Reversed for Lack of Adequate Representation, But the Third Circuit Explains How to Cure the Problem

Dewey v. Volkswagen, A.G., 681 F.3d 170 (3d Cir. 2012). This class action case involved allegations that Volkswagen vehicles had defective sunroofs that allowed water to infiltrate into the interior of the...

Work Product Doctrine and Common Interest Privilege Exempt Documents From Disclosure Under OPRA or Common Law Right of Access

O'Boyle v. Borough of Longport, 426 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2012). This is yet another Open Public Records Act ("OPRA") case. Plaintiff was a frequent antagonist of the defendant Borough, hostility...

An Important Decision Under the Evidence Rules

Konop v. Rosen, 425 N.J. Super. 391 (App. Div. 2012). Trial lawyers and appellate lawyers take heed! The Appellate Division, speaking through an encyclopedic opinion by Judge Messano, has issued one of...

Valuable Insights From Appellate Division Judges

Last night's meeting of the NJSBA's Appellate Practice Committee, of which I am a member and a past Chair, was a roundtable discussion with six distinguished Appellate Division judges. The...

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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."...

What Weapons Offenses Are Subject to the Parole Ineligibility Requirement of the Graves Act?

State v. Cromedy, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). The Graves Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), prescribes a minimum term of incarceration for firearm-related offenses under certain subsections of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5, as well as a mandatory period of parole ineligibility. In this case, the issue was whether a weapons offense conviction of violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(j) is covered by the Graves Act. The Law Division and the Appellate Division each held that it was. The Supreme Court reversed in a unanimous opinion by Justice Noriega....