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

"Do's and Don'ts of Appellate Practice- A February 25, 2020 Webinar

On February 25, from noon- 2 PM, NJICLE will presenting a webinar titled "Do's and Don'ts of Appellate Practice." I will be a panelist, along with Judges Koblitz and Sumners...

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...

Parties' Stipulation Waived Right to Appeal

In re Odyssey Contracting Corp., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2019). Odyssey Contracting Corp. and L&L Painting Co., Inc., were (respectively) a subcontractor and the prime contractor on a project...

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 Next Third Circuit Judicial Conference Will be May 13-15, 2020 in Philadelphia

The Third Circuit has scheduled the next Third Judicial Conference for May 13-15, 2020 at the Penn's Landing Hilton in Philadelphia. As discussed here, the Court had previously announced a...

"Judge-Shopping": Don't Do It

Goldfarb v. Solimine, 460 N.J. Super. 22 (App. Div. 2019). Everyone has their favorite judge(s) before whom they would prefer to try a case. In this case, "a defense attorney,...

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 Courts Can Decline to Review Arguments Made Below as to Other Issues, But Not as to the Issue Actually on Appeal

Chirino v. Proud 2 Haul, Inc., 458 N.J. Super. 308 (App. Div. 2017), aff'd o.b., 237 N.J. 440 (2019). There is a long-settled general rule that an appellate court will...

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The Supreme Court Takes Up a Paramedics Immunity Case

The Supreme Court announced late yesterday that it has granted certification in Almonte v. Township of Union. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Under the circumstances presented, are the paramedics entitled to immunity because they provided advanced life support services "in accordance with this act" as required by N.J.S.A. 26:2K-14, specifically, N.J.S.A. 26:2K-10(a), which requires that the paramedic "maintains direct voice communication with and is taking orders from a licensed physician or physician directed registered professional nurse"?...

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....