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

"To Each His Own": The Affidavit of Merit Statute Requires an Affidavit From a "Like-Licensed" Professional

Hill International, Inc. v. Atlantic City Bd. of Educ., 438 N.J. Super. 562 (App. Div. 2014). The Affidavit of Merit statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-26 to -29, requires that a plaintiff in...

"Brown" Wins a Tax Penalty Appeal in the Supreme Court

United Parcel Service Gen. Servs. Co. v. Director, Div. of Taxation, 220 N.J. 90 (2014). This per curiam decision of the Supreme Court today affirmed an Appellate Division decision, written by Judge...

Justice Robert L. Clifford (1924-2014)

Justice Robert L. Clifford died on Saturday, November 29. He was 89 years old. Justice Clifford served on the Supreme Court for twenty one years, from 1973 to 1994. During...

A "Tail" Insurance Tale

Mortgage Grader, Inc. v. Ward & Olivo, LLP, 438 N.J. Super. 202 (App. Div. 2014). In the legal malpractice context, a "tail" insurance policy is one that "provides insurance coverage for malpractice...

More on Charter Schools

Education Law Center v. New Jersey State Bd. of Educ., 438 N.J. Super. 108 (App. Div. 2014). In In re Grant of Charters to Merit Preparatory School and Newark Preparatory...

Full Faith and Credit, and Gun Permits

In re Denial of Application of Winston for a Firearms Purchaser Identification Card, 438 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2014). George Winston, Jr. applied to the Police Chief in Clifton, New...

Public Utilities Are Not Exempt From Municipal Regulation

New Jersey Natural Gas Co. v. Borough of Red Bank, 438 N.J. Super. 164 (App. Div. 2014). New Jersey Natural Gas ("NJNG") proposed to remove underground gas regulators located in...

What if They Passed a Statute and Neither Side Complied With It?

Manhattan Trailer Park Homeowners Ass'n, Inc. v. Manhattan Trailer Court & Trailer Sales, Inc., 438 N.J. Super. 185 (App. Div. 2014). The Mobile Home Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8C-2 to -21,...

Jim Thorpe's Remains, or, When Congressional Intent Trumps Plain Statutory Language

Thorpe v. Borough of Jim Thorpe, 770 F.3d 255 (3d Cir. 2014). Jim Thorpe was one of the greatest athletes of the twentieth century. He won Olympic medals in 1912...

What Does "Annual" Mean?

In re Petition of BofI Federal Bank to Assign Lottery Prize Payment Rights, 437 N.J. Super. 549 (App. Div. 2014). These consolidated cases called on the Appellate Division to decide whether...

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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....