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

A "Must Read" Supreme Court Opinion About Attorney Retainer Agreements

Balducci v. Cige, 240 N.J. 574 (2020). In this case, as discussed here, the Appellate Division invalidated a retainer agreement in an opinion reported at 456 N.J. Super. 219 (App....

Oral Argument Guidelines From the Federal Circuit

As part of a larger "Guide for Oral Argument" (dated January 2020, and designated "Version 2.0"), the Federal Circuit provided the following "Guidelines for Counsel During Argument." Many of them...

Judges Koblitz and Sumners Share Their Wisdom

Last night's meeting of the New Jersey State Bar Association's Appellate Practice Committee featured a guest appearance by Judges Koblitz and Sumners. They took questions and shared advice about appellate...

The Most Common Deficiencies in Appellate Division Briefs and Appendices

The bane of every appellate practitioner's existence is the dreaded deficiency notice from the Appellate Division. Last night's meeting of the New Jersey State Bar Association's Appellate Practice Committee included...

The Supreme Court Restructures Remittitur and Additur

Orientale v. Jennings, 239 N.J. 569 (2019). As Justice Albin's opinion for a unanimous Court today described, remittitur and additur (the ability of a trial judge to reduce or increase...

When New Issues Arise on Appeal, Appellate Division Should Conduct Oral Argument Even if No Party Originally Requested It

State in the Interest of D.M., 238 N.J. 2 (2019). In this juvenile delinquency case, neither the State nor defendant sought oral argument in the Appellate Division. The State, the...

Appellate Practice Insights From Judge Vernoia

The guest speaker at last night's meeting of the NJSBA Appellate Practice Committee was Judge Vernoia. He offered some of his thoughts and insights about appellate practice and answered questions...

"Bridgegate" Wire Fraud Convictions Are Affirmed, While Civil Rights Convictions Are Reversed

United States v. Baroni, 909 F.3d 550 (3d Cir. 2018). In a unanimous opinion by Judge Scirica today, the Third Circuit upheld the convictions of "Bridgegate" defendants Bill Baroni and...

The Supreme Court Solicits Amicus Briefs on Additur and Remittitur

The Supreme Court announced the unusual step of soliciting amicus curiae briefs from anyone who might wish to file one in the case of Orientale v. Jennings, an auto accident...

Software Relied on by Appraisal Experts in Tax Appeals Must be Shown to be Reliable

Palisadium Managemen Corp. v. Borough of Cliffside Park, 456 N.J. Super. 293 (App. Div. 2018). This opinion by Judge Accurso involved an appeal from decisions of the Tax Court that...

1 2 34…Last

Three Big Decisions From the Supreme Court

Last week was an eventful one in the Supreme Court. The Court ruled in three appeals, all in closely watched cases. They are summarized here in reverse chronological order....

Two OPRA Cases and a Municipal Land Use Law Case for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in three new matters. All three involve grants of certification, but one also is an appeal as of right due to a relatively rare dissent in the Appellate Division....

The Third Circuit Returns to New Jersey Appellate Law Blog

When this blog began, in October 2010, it covered goings-on in the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the Appellate Division, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, with occasional posts about the Supreme Court of the United States. That continued for many years. More recently, however, it became too difficult to keep up with all of those three courts, and coverage of the Third Circuit disappeared virtually entirely. But since the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division have not published many decisions recently (a circumstance that is certain to change shortly), this blog will resume covering the Third Circuit at least on occasion, beginning today....

Contracts for Lifetime Employment: An Anniversary

On this date in 1952, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Savarese v. Pyrene Manufacturing Co., 9 N.J. 595 (1952). Justice Wachenfeld's decision for a 5-0 Court remains the leading authority on whether and when employment contracts for life are enforceable....