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

A Milestone Date for Motions for Leave to Appeal

On this date in 1956, the Appellate Division decided Romano v. Maglio, 41 N.J. Super. 561 (App. Div. 1956). For 56 years, that opinion, written by Judge Clapp for himself...

Even Under New Jersey State Law, Standing Has Limits

Kaufman v. Allstate New Jersey Ins. Co.., 2012 WL 3870323 (App. Div. Sept. 7, 2012). As discussed here, New Jersey has more liberal rules for standing to sue than do the...

Chief Justice Rabner Elevates Judges Rodriguez and Cuff to the Supreme Court

In an Order issued yesterday, Chief Justice Rabner announced the elevation of Judges Rodriguez and Cuff to the Supreme Court effective October 1, 2012. The Chief Justice acted pursuant to...

See the Appellate Division in Action in Cape May Today!

South Jerseyans, and those who are vacationing in Cape May and who either have gotten too much sun or just want to get a dose of appellate practice, can observe seven...

Supreme Court Announces Rule Amendments to be Effective on September 1, 2012

The Supreme Court has approved amendments to a number of Court Rules. The amendments take effect on September 1, 2012. The changes to the appellate rules fall into four general...

DePascale v. New Jersey: The Supreme Court Speaks

DePascale v. State of New Jersey, 211 N.J. 40 (2012). Article VI, section 6, paragraph 6 of the New Jersey Constitution states that "[t]he Justices of the Supreme Court and...

Appellate Practice Tips from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

A panel of three Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges offered their tips for appellate practitioners. Those perspectives are available here. Many of the tips are, or should be, familia...

No Surprise: Supreme Court Grants Review of In re Plan for the Abolition of the Council on Affordable Housing

In In re Plan for the Abolition of the Council on Affordable Housing, 424 N.J. Super. 410 (App. Div. 2012), the Appellate Division held that Governor Christie could not unilaterally...

Five Judges are Promoted to the Appellate Division

Effective August 1, 2012, Judges Allison E. Accurso, Michael A. Guadagno, Michael J. Haas, and Susan F. Maven will be promoted to the Appellate Division. Judge Richard S. Hoffman will...

Will Properly Admitted to Probate Even Though Decedent Didn't Sign It

In re Estate of Richard Ehrlich, 427 N.J. Super. 64 (App. Div. 2012). Richard Ehrlich, a trust and estates lawyer, died. The only purported will of his that could be found was...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 343536 37 38 39 40 41 42 43…Last

"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....