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

28 Years Since Nolan v. Lee Ho

On this date in 1990, the Supreme Court decided Nolan v. Lee Ho, 120 N.J. 465 (1990). According to Westlaw, that case has been cited over 1,100 times. Generally, those...

The Federal Tort Claims Act Statute of Limitations

Sconiers v. United States, 896 F.3d 595 (3d Cir. 2018). Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §2401(b) ("FTCA"), a tort claim against the United States is "forever barred...

McCarrell Choice of Law Analysis Goes Against Legal Malpractice Plaintiff

MTK Food Services, Inc. v. Sirius America Ins. Co., 455 N.J. Super. 307 (App. Div. 2018). In McCarrell v. Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc., 227 N.J. 569 (2017), discussed here, the Supreme Court...

U.S. Supreme Court Restricts American Pipe Class Action Tolling Doctrine

China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh, 138 S.Ct. 1800 (2018). In American Pipe & Const. Co. v. Utah, 414 U.S. 538 (1974), the Supreme Court of the United States announced a...

When Does the FDCPA Statute of Limitations Begin to Run? The Circuit Courts Now Disagree.

Rotkiske v. Klemm, 890 F.3d 422 (3d Cir. 2018). The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §1692 et seq. ("FDCPA"), states that an action to enforce liability thereunder may...

The "Single Publication Rule" in the Internet Age, and the "Fair Report" Privilege

Petro-Lubricant Testing Laboratories, Inc. v. Adelman, 233 N.J. 236 (2018). This defamation case, which involves an internet article about an employment discrimination lawsuit that was thereafter reprinted in somewhat different...

Fictitious Party ("John Doe") Pleading, and Deadlines to Seek Dismissal Based on Statute of Limitations

Baez v. Paulo, 453 N.J. Super. 422 (App. Div. 2018). This was a medical malpractice/wrongful death case. The Law Division had precluded plaintiff from adding three doctors as defendants after...

The Final Post of 2017: The Mistaken Imprisonment Act

Watson v. New Jersey Department of Treasury, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2017). The Mistaken Imprisonment Act, N.J.S.A. 52:4C-1 to -7, ("the Act") allows claims for damages by persons...

In a Construction Defect Case, the Supreme Court Again Clarifies Statute of Limitations Law

The Palisades at Fort Lee Condominium Association, Inc. v. 100 Old Palisade, LLC, 230 N.J. 427 (2017). This opinion, by Justice Albin for a unanimous Court, involved a lengthy construction...

Accutane Plaintiffs Overcome the "Super-Presumption" That FDA-Approved Warnings About Drugs are Adequate

In re Accutane Litig., 2017 WL 3138003 (App. Div. July 25, 2017). [Disclosure: I argued for the successful plaintiffs in one of these two consolidated appeals, the one that involved...

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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....