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

The U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up the Health Care Law- Day 2

Today was the day that the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument about the "individual mandate." That is the provision that requires everyone to have health insurance....

DePascale v. New Jersey (Judges' Pension Case) Argued

The oral argument in the Supreme Court of the United States today about the Affordable Care Act, a/k/a "Obamacare," has drawn so much attention that it has overshadowed the nearly...

A Welding Business is a "Home Occupation" Under a Broad Ordinance

Columbro v. Lebanon Tp. Bd. of Adj.., 424 N.J. Super. 501 (App. Div. 2012). Defendants Michael and Frances Edwards obtained a conditional use variance that allowed them to conduct a welding business in...

Seton Hall Law School Women's Law Forum Honors Judge Wefing

Tonight, I was privileged to attend an event at which the Seton Hall Law School's Women's Law Forum honored Judge Wefing with its "Women of Substance" award. Approximately 150 people...

A Wise Application of the Supreme Court's Directives Regarding Awards of Attorneys' Fees

Grow Company, Inc. v. Chokshi, 424 N.J. Super. 357 (App. Div. 2012). This is yet another in what seems to be an endless stream of appeals of awards of attorneys' fees. That...

Abraham Lincoln: "A Lawyer's Word is His Bond"

Today, February 13, 2012, New Jersey's state courts are closed in observance of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln exactly 203 years ago yesterday. Leaving aside a Supreme Court of New Jersey...

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."...

Five New Temporary Assignments to the Appellate Division

Effective January 23, 2012, and continuing through April 13, 2012, Judge Allison Accurso, who had been the Presiding Judge, General Equity, Somerset County, has been temporarily assigned to Part C of the...

A Unique Experience Before the Supreme Court of New Jersey

Today, I had the pleasure of arguing an important case involving choice of law, statute of limitations, and federal preemption issues before the Court. But only one Justice, Justice Lavecchia,...

"What's in a Name?"

Emma v. Evans, 424 N.J. Super. 36 (App. Div. 2012). The title of this post is, unsurprisingly, not my own creation. It is the first line of this opinion by Judge Fisher,...

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"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....