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

"Ministerial Exception" That Bars Employment Discrimination Claims by Ministers Employed by Religious Institutions Also Covers Other Claims Related to the Institution's Employment Decision

Hyman v. Rosenbaum Yeshiva of New Jersey, 474 N.J. Super. 561 (App. Div. 2023). As Judge Mitterhoff explained in her opinion for the Appellate Division today, the Free Exercise and...

A Suppression of Evidence Case With "Three Issues of First Impression": Next Stop, Supreme Court?

State v. Scott, 474 N.J. Super. 388 (App. Div. 2023). This was a typically thorough and scholarly opinion by Judge Susswein. It is well worth reading in full. But because...

Smith & Wesson Fails to Block a Subpoena Issued by the Attorney General Under the Consumer Fraud Act

Platkin v. Smith & Wesson Sales Co., Inc., 474 N.J. Super. 476 (App. Div. 2023). In 2020, the Attorney General's office issued to Smith & Wesson an administrative action subpoena...

Witness Tampering Statute is Neither Unconstitutionally Overbroad Nor Vague

State v. Hill, 474 N.J. Super. 366 (App. Div. 2023). Defendant was convicted of carjacking and witness tampering. After the female victim of the carjacking identified defendant to police from...

The Effect of an Amendment to Prong Two of the "Best Interests of the Child" Test in Termination of Parental Rights Proceedings

New Jersey Division of Child Protection & Permanency v. D.C.A., 474 N.J. Super. 11 (App. Div. 2022). This opinion today by Judge Whipple affirmed the decision of a Family Part...

The First Week of August

The dog days of summer often see the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division issuing opinions in cases argued earlier in the Term. The Third Circuit is often more active...

Two More Cases Against Sky Zone, Both Involving Arbitration Clauses

Matullo v. Skyzone Trampoline Park, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2022); Perez v. Sky Zone LLC, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2022). Sky Zone, an entertainment operation, has...

The 2,000th Post on This Blog: The Anniversary of Campbell v. Department of Civil Service

On this date in 1963, the Supreme Court decided Campbell v. Department of Civil Service, 39 N.J. 556 (1963). The opinion, by Justice Jacob s for a unanimous Court, has...

Two Opinions by Judge Whipple

Grandvue Manor, LLC v. Cornerstone Contracting Corp., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2022); Sullivan v. Board of Review, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2022). Both of these opinions,...

Appointing Wife's Children as Her Guardian in Divorce Proceeding Did Not Render Subsequent Settlement Unconscionable

D.M.C. v. K.H.G., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2022). This Family Part appeal involved the dissolution of a marriage that had lasted 31 years. As Judge Mawla described in...

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The 2025 Omnibus Court Rule Amendments and Other Changes

The Supreme Court announced amendments to Court Rules and appendices, as well as certain other procedural changes. That announcement is embodied in an Omnibus Rule Amendment Order that is available here....

"Abuse of Discretion" vs. "Patent and Gross Abuse of Discretion"

State v. Taylor, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), a part of the Graves Act, makes the use or possession of a firearm during the commission, attempted commission, or flight from the commission of certain designated offenses a sentencing factor that triggers the imposition of a mandatory term of imprisonment. A later-added section of the Graves Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.2, creates an "escape valve," under which a prosecutor may seek from the court a waiver of the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence where the prosecutor believes that such a sentence would not serve the interest of justice....

A "Swan Song" for a False Light Invasion of Privacy Claim on Statute of Limitations Grounds

Chipola v. Flannery, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). As discussed here, this case was one of two that the Supreme Court agreed to review in its first grants of review of the current Term. The question presented was "Does a claim alleging false light invasion of privacy have a one-year statute of limitations, see Swan v. Boardwalk Regency Corp., 407 N.J. Super. 108 (App. Div 2009)?" Today, agreeing with the Law Division and the Appellate Division, the Supreme Court answered "yes."...

What Weapons Offenses Are Subject to the Parole Ineligibility Requirement of the Graves Act?

State v. Cromedy, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). The Graves Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), prescribes a minimum term of incarceration for firearm-related offenses under certain subsections of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5, as well as a mandatory period of parole ineligibility. In this case, the issue was whether a weapons offense conviction of violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(j) is covered by the Graves Act. The Law Division and the Appellate Division each held that it was. The Supreme Court reversed in a unanimous opinion by Justice Noriega....