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

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...

Unnecessary Supersedeas Bond Legislation

Rules 2:9-5 and 2:9-6 provide that an appellant who seeks a stay of a judgment pending appeal must, ordinarily, post a supersedeas bond or cash deposit "for the satisfaction of the...

Professional Association Has Standing to Sue on Behalf of Its Members, and Court Would Overlook Procedural Deficiency, But Association Still Loses on the Merits

New Jersey Dental Ass'n v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 424 N.J. Super. 160 (App. Div. 2012). Many cases have rightly held that, under New Jersey's liberal standing rules, organizations have standing to...

Even a Non-Citizen May Change Her Name

In re Application of Xiangjing Zhan, 424 N.J. Super. 231 (App. Div. 2012). A permanent resident alien sought to invoke New Jersey's name change statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:52-1 to -4, to change his...

Supreme Court Civil Practice Committee Proposes Amendments to Certain Appellate Rules

The Supreme Court's Civil Practice Committee has issued its biannual report on proposed changes to the New Jersey Court Rules. Some of the proposed amendments affect the Part II (Appellate) rules....

A Rare Opinion Granting a Motion for Summary Disposition

Spinelli v. Echeverry Industries, LLC, 2012 WL 370666 (App. Div. Feb. 7, 2012). Rule 2:8-3 authorizes parties on appeal to move for summary disposition of that appeal at any time....

Judges May Not Enter Final Judgment and Defer Their Opinions and Reasons Until Later

Ducey v. Ducey, 424 N.J. Super. 80 (App. Div. 2012). After a fourteen-day trial, a Family Part judge entered a judgment of divorce and stated that "the underlying opinion will be sent shortly."...

An Important (Though Currently Unpublished) New Class Action Opinion

Wenger v. Cardo Windows, Inc., 2012 WL 280254 (App. Div. Feb. 1, 2012). Plaintiffs in this consumer class action sought injunctive relief and statutory civil penalties against defendants in connection...

Trial Courts Must be Proactive in Ensuring Compliance With Rules Regarding Dismissal With Prejudice for Failure to Make Discovery

A&M Farm & Garden Center v. American Sprinkler Mechanical, LLC, 423 N.J. Super. 528 (App. Div. 2012). No matter how often the courts inveigh against the failure of attorneys and parties to follow...

Supreme Court Will Review Mediation Settlement Case

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted certification in Willingboro Mall, Ltd. v. 240/242 Franklin Avenue, LLC, 421 N.J. Super. 445 (App. Div. 2011). The decision of the Appellate Division...

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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....