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

Arbitrator's Interpretation of Labor Agreement Was "Reasonably Debatable" and Should Have Been Upheld

Borough of Carteret v. Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Ass'n, Local 67, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). Under longstanding Supreme Court of New Jersey precedent, an arbitrator's interpretation of a labor contract is...

My Interview on "The Bold Sidebar" Podcast

Jeff Horn is an attorney in Toms River. He is the host of a podcast called "The Bold Sidebar." Jeff summarizes the topic of that podcast as "all things New...

At Least for a Day, The Supreme Court is Back in Person

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in State v. Dangcil, a case in which, as discussed here, the Court granted direct certification from the Law Division and accelerated the...

Both a Tax Collector and Her Municipal Employer Can be Liable Under Civil Rights Acts for Improper Refusal to Redeem Property to Avoid Foreclosure

Winberry Realty Partnership v. Borough of Rutherford, 247 N.J. 165 (2021). [Disclosure: I am one of the counsel for the successful plaintiffs in this case.] This case has a long...

Two Rulings in Criminal Cases by the Supreme Court

State v. Szemple, ___ N.J ___ (2021); J.K. v. New Jersey State Parole Bd., ___ N.J. ___ (2021). The Court decided these two criminal appeals in the last two days....

This Week in the Appellate Division

The Appellate Division issued four published opinions this week (two on Monday and two yesterday). Here are summaries of those rulings: Wilhelm v. Ryder Logistics & Transportation Solutions, ___ N.J....

Despite Commissioner of Education's Failure to Address Segregative Effects of Expansion of Seven Newark Charter Schools, Those Expansions Stand

In re Renewal Application of TEAM Academy Charter School, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). Justice Patterson's decision for a unanimous Supreme Court today addressed whether, when considering the expansion applications of...

Complaint-Summonses From a Municipal Police Department Can be Obtained Under the Open Public Records Acts

Simmons v. Mercado, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). Justice Pierre-Louis issued this unanimous opinion for the Supreme Court today. The issue was "whether a records request for complaint-summonses from a municipal...

A Jury Could Find That a Supervisor's Use of Two "Highly Offensive" Slurs Created a Hostile Work Environment

Rios v. Meda Pharmaceutical, Inc., ___ N.J. ___ (2021). In Taylor v. Metzger, 152 N.J. 490 (1998), the Supreme Court held that a single racial epithet "was sufficiently severe to...

Reversing the Appellate Division, the Supreme Court Adopts the "Ongoing Storm Rule"

Pareja v. Princeton International Properties, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). This 5-2 decision addressed the "ongoing storm rule," which Justice Fernandez-Vina's majority opinion defined as a doctrine "under which a landowner...

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A Municipal Court Administrator is Employed by the Township, Not the Administrative Office of the Courts

Palmisano v. State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The opening paragraph of Judge Marczyk's opinion for the Appellate Division well encapsulates what the appeal was about and what the result was. "Plaintiff Lindsay Palmisano appeals from the trial court's April 1, 2024 order dismissing her complaint with prejudice against defendant State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts and Municipal Division (AOC) pursuant to Rule 4:6-2(e). The primary issue on appeal is whether plaintiff, a municipal court administrator, is an employee of the AOC, thereby allowing her to assert a claim against the AOC under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49. Based on our review of the record and the applicable legal principles, we conclude plaintiff was employed by Vernon Township (Township), not the AOC, and, therefore, we affirm."...

Supreme Court to Take Up Two Published Appellate Division Opinions

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in two new appeals. One is before the Court on leave to appeal. The Court granted certification in the other matter....

South Seaside Park Can Detach Itself From Berkeley Township

Whiteman v. Township Council of Berkeley Township, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). South Seaside Park is a small (490 year-round residents) barrier island community that has been annexed to the Township of Berkeley ("the Township"). South Seaside Park sought to deannex itself from the Township and to be annexed instead to the Borough of Seaside Park. South Seaside Park followed a statutory petitioning procedure in doing so. The Township refused consent. South Seaside Park went to court and won a ruling from the Law Division that rejected the Township's refusal. The Appellate Division affirmed. Yesterday, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Patterson, the Supreme Court affirmed as well....

Megan's Law "Not Likely to Pose a Threat to the Safety of Others" Extends to Non-Sexual as Well as Sexual Re-Offenses

In re Registrant S.O., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). This appeal presented a pure legal issue relating to the "public safety prongs" contained in the termination provisions of Megan's Law, N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2(f), and the Community Supervision for Life statute ("CSL"), N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.4(c). Judge Vanek crystallized that "novel" issue as "whether, on a registrant's application to terminate Megan's Law and CSL obligations, the phrase ‘not likely to pose a threat to the safety of others' should be broadly interpreted with the trial court considering threats to safety from subsequent non-sexual and sexual offenses or whether the inquiry should be limited to the threat of sexual re-offense only." The panel held that the broader view was the correct one....