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

Anonymity of Intranet Hackers Will Not be Protected

Warren Hospital v. John Does, 430 N.J. Super. 225 (App. Div. 2013). In Dendrite Int'l, Inc. v. Doe No. 3, 342 N.J. Super. 134 (App. Div. 2001), the Appellate Division laid out...

A Pro-Plaintiff Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Decision From the Third Circuit

Caprio v. Healthcare Revenue Recovery Group, LLC, 709 F.3d 142 (3d Cir. 2013). The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §1692g ("FDCPA"), requires debt collectors to include in collection letters a "debt...

A Class Action Plaintiff Must be a Member of the Class That He or She Seeks to Represent

Rosen v. Continental Airlines, Inc., 430 N.J. Super. 97 (App. Div. 2013). The holding of this decision affirmed a defense motion to dismiss this putative class action case for failure to state a claim. Plaintiff had...

A Court Cannot Find "Abuse" or "Neglect" of Child Where Mother Used Drugs During Pregnancy But No Harm Resulted to the Child

Division of Youth & Family Servs. v. A.L., 213 N.J. 1 (2013). When A.L. was admitted to the hospital to give birth to her son, A.D., she tested positive for cocaine. The...

Another "Off-Premises Liability" Case

Nielsen v. Wal-Mart Store #2171, 429 N.J. Super. 251 (App. Div. 2013). Defendant Wal-Mart Store #2171 owned a unit in a multi-unit condominium development owned by another defendant. Plaintiff was an employee...

Two Issues Under the Construction Lien Law

L&W Supply Corp. v. DeSilva, 429 N.J. Super. 179 (App. Div. 2012). In Craft v. Stevenson Lumber Yard, Inc., 179 N.J. 56 (2004), the Supreme Court ruled that a supplier of materials...

Damage Claims Against Port Authority Barred Because Plaintiff Had Not Given Pre-Suit Notice

Santiago v. New York & New Jersey Port Authority, 429 N.J. Super. 150 (App. Div. 2012). N.J.S.A. 32:1-163 states that "in the case of any suit, action or proceeding for the recovery...

Unhappy With Trial Time Limits Imposed by a District Court? You Must Try Your Case First and Then Appeal

In re Arthur Baldwin, 700 F.3d 122 (3d Cir. 2012). This was an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy, involving claims of breach of the fiduciary duty of care and loyalty, and deepening insolvency,...

Party That Filed Multiple Motions in Court Waived Arbitration Clause

Bellevue Drug Co. v. Caremark SPCS, 700 F.3d 109 (3d Cir. 2012). This was an antitrust class action. Plaintiffs, who are retail pharmacy businesses, and defendant, who is a prescription benefits manager for...

Tea Party Challenge to District Map Fails

Gonzalez v. State of New Jersey Apportionment Comm'n, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2012). The Tea Party has had little electoral success in New Jersey. Its efforts to achieve...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 404142 43 44 45…Last

The "Limited Attorney Exemption" of the Debt Adjustment and Credit Counseling Act is Held Unconstitutional as Violative of the Separation of Powers and Void for Vagueness

Anchor Law Firm, PLLC v. State of New Jersey, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The Debt Adjustment and Credit Counseling Act, N.J.S.A. 17:16G-1 et seq. ("DACCA"), prohibits debt adjusters in New Jersey from operating for a profit. There is an exception for attorneys not "principally engaged" (a term not defined in the statute) in debt adjustment. That exception, adopted in a 1986 amendment, replaced a prior version of the DACCA that had exempted all attorneys from its scope....

Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week: Where a Party Files a Suit Alleged to Violate the UPEPA But Quickly Dismisses It, Can Defendants Then Get Counsel Fees Under the Statute?

On May 15, judges on Part C of the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Satz v. Keshet Starr. Plaintiff, acting pro se, filed a defamation suit against defendants. Defendants filed an o order to show cause to dismiss the case and for attorneys' fees under the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-49 et seq. ("UPEPA"). The UPEPA, enacted in 2023, sought to make it more difficult to use the legal system as a weapon to bully individuals into silence by filing what have been known as SLAPP ("strategic lawsuits against public participation") suits....

"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....