NJ Appellate Law Blog

Supreme Court Will Review a Long Term Tax Exemption Law Case

The Supreme Court has announced that it has granted review in EQR-LPC Urban Renewal North Pier, LLC v. City of Jersey City. The question presented in that appeal, as phrased...

No Valid Settlement With DEP Absent Signature and Public Notice of Proposed Settlement

Cumberland Farms, Inc. v. New Jersey Dep't of Environmental Protection, 447 N.J. Super. 444 (App. Div. 2016). Plaintiff ("CFI") operates convenience stores and gas stations in many locations in New...

Can an Agency Respond to an OPRA Request by Neither Confirming Nor Denying That Requested Documents Exist?

North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2016). The answer to the question posed in the caption of this post is,...

Claims of Non-Debtors Alleging Harm From Filing of Involuntary Bankruptcy of Debtor are Not Preempted by the Bankruptcy Code

Rosenberg v. DVI Receivables XVII, LLC, 835 F.3d 414 (3d Cir. 2016). As Judge Ambro noted in his opinion in this case today, an involuntary bankruptcy is one that is...

The Supreme Court's Busy August

In the last ten days, the Supreme Court, nearing the end of its term, has issued a number of opinions. It has been hard to keep up with them all....

When Can an LLC Expel a Member?

IE Test, LLC v. Carroll, 226 N.J. 166 (2016). Until it was superseded by the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, N.J.S.A. 42:2C-1 to -94 ("RULLCA"), on March 18, 2013,...

Trial Courts May Not Take Away a Jury Trial as a Sanction for a Rule Violation

Williams v. American Auto Logistics, 226 N.J. 117 (2016). Parties who fail to follow procedural rules are a source of frustration to busy trial judges. As Justice Fernandez-Vina noted in...

"Time of Application" Rule in Municipal Land Use Law is Construed in Favor of Developers

Jai Sai Ram, LLC v. South Toms River Planning and Zoning Bd., 446 N.J. Super. 338 (App. Div. 2016). As Judge Reisner stated in her opinion in this case today,...

Future Advance Mortgages: The Law From the Past Remains the Law (With Perhaps One Exception) in the Present

Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc. v. Benun, 226 N.J. 41 (2016). A future advance mortgage, in broad outline, is a mortgage that secures a loan that is made in stages, rather...

A "Graduating Class" Means a Group of Students Who Complete an Educational Program and Receive Diplomas or Certificates in the Same Given Year

In re Revocation or Suspension of Provisional Accreditation of Eastwick College LPN-to-RN Bridge Program, 225 N.J. 533 (2016). As Justice Patterson reminded us in her opinion in this case today,...

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Three Supreme Court Decisions to Catch Up On

This is the second post that catches up with appellate developments last week and this week. The Supreme Court issued rulings in three cases during that period. Two of those appeals involved unanimous opinions. The third engendered a relatively rare 5-2 split among the Justices. Here are summaries:...

Three More Criminal Appeals for the Supreme Court

Much of last week was consumed by a sojourn in Hershey, PA for the Third Circuit Judicial Conference, a very enjoyable and educational experience. As a result, it's time for some catching up. Today's is the first such post....

Statutory Ban on Retroactive Reduction of Court-Ordered Child Support is Inapplicable to Reductions Based on a Child's Emancipation

Bournes v. Harris, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2026). This post-dissolution appeal from the Family Part involved several questions arising out of a Marital Settlement Agreement ("MSA") entered in a Texas court. In an opinion by Judge Firko, the Appellate Division affirmed a ruling by Judge Lougy, whom the panel identified by name, that New Jersey courts had jurisdiction to enforce and to modify the Texas MSA, and that Judge Lougy properly enforced arrears....

Common Law Bad Faith Claims and Claims Under the Insurance Fair Conduct Act Should, In Many Cases, be Deferred Until After Resolution of Underinsured Motorist Claims

Tenenbaum v. Allstate Ins. Co., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2026). Judge Natali's opinion for the Appellate Division in this matter today involved two matters that were before the court on leave to appeal. The issue in both cases was whether and when "common law bad faith claims under Pickett v. Lloyd's, 131 N.J. 457, 467 (1993), and those brought under the recently adopted Insurance Fair Conduct Act (IFCA), N.J.S.A. 17:29BB-1 to -3," should be stayed until resolution of all disputes relating to underinsured motorist ("UIM") claims brought in the same action....