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

No Right to Bring Damage Suit for Insurer's Refusal to Obey Compensation Judge's Order

Stancil v. ACE USA, 418 N.J. Super. 79 (App. Div. 2011). A series of articles in The Star-Ledger in April 2008 exposed a pervasive problem of insurance companies flouting the orders of...

Some Lessons About Motions for Reconsideration

Nead v. Union Cty. Educ. Servs. Comm'n, 2011 WL 166205 (App. Div. Jan. 20, 2011). This case, which resulted in a reversal of a trial court's decision to dismiss an employment discrimination case, teaches several things...

The Uses of Unpublished Opinions

Division of Youth & Family Services v. M.D., 417 N.J. Super. 583 (App. Div. 2011). This lengthy opinion by Judge Messano focuses on what information counsel must provide to a defendant who...

Justice Rivera-Soto Says Farewell

Today, Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto notified Governor Christie that he did not wish to be reappointed to the Supreme Court when his seven-year initial term ends later this year. Justice Rivera-Soto...

Citing Unpublished Rulings? Attach Them!

In re Trusts to be Established in the Matter of the Estate of Margaret A. Flood, Deceased, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2010). The holding of this case was...

Justices Behaving Badly

Henry v. New Jersey Dep't of Human Services, 204 N.J. 320 (2010), and Johnson v. Johnson, 204 N.J. 529 (2010). These two decisions will not be remembered for the facts or holdings of the...

The Powers of Chancery

Marioni v. Roxy Garments Delivery Co., Inc., 417 N.J. Super. 269 (App. Div. 2010). In this opinion by Judge Fisher, a former Monmouth County Chancery judge, the Appellate Division discusses the broad...

Diluting the Right to Oral Argument on Trial Level Motions

Abulkhair v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 2010 WL 4226222 (App. Div. Oct. 27, 2010). Here, a party's notice of motion in the Law Division requested oral argument only if there...

If You Seek Fees, You Must Follow the Rules Even in Small Cases

Hillcrest Garden, Inc. v. Victorian Florist, Inc., 2010 WL 4137191 (App. Div. Oct. 22, 2010). In this credit contract appeal, the agreement provided for "reasonable attorneys' fees of 25% of...

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The Supreme Court Clarifies New Jersey's Automobile Exception to the Requirement of a Search Warrant

State v. Fenimore, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Both the United States and New Jersey Constitutions protect the people against "unreasonable searches and seizures" and prohibit the issuance of search warrants without "probable cause." Both federal and New Jersey law, however, recognize an "automobile exception" to the warrant requirement. But New Jersey's automobile exception is narrower than the federal exception, as the Supreme Court stated in State v. Witt, 223 N.J. 409 (2015). Today, the Supreme Court ruled that the Appellate Division in this case had interpreted Witt too broadly in reversing a Law Division decision to exclude evidence from a warrantless search. The Supreme Court reversed and excluded the evidence....

"Liberal Standards" for Standing "Are Not Equivalent to No Standards At All," the Supreme Court Says

New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., ___ N.J. ___ (2025). As Justice Pierre-Louis observed in her opinion for a unanimous Court in this case today, New Jersey state courts have long "take[n] a more liberal approach to standing than federal law." But in this appeal, the statute sued upon, the Franchise Practices Act, N.J.S.A. 56:10-1 et seq. ("FPA"), stated that only a "franchisee" could sue its franchisor. Because plaintiff here ("NJCAR") was not a franchisee but an association of franchisees, NJCAR lacked standing to bring a FPA case....

Compassionate Release Act Does Not Require Physical Examination of Inmates Seeking Relief, But Denial of Relief in This Case Was Arbitrary and Capricious

M.R. v. New Jersey Department of Corrections, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Plaintiff appealed the denial of his petition for release under the Compassionate Release Act, N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.51 ("CRA"). He argued that he had not been physically examined by a physician, and that the statute required a physical examination. The Appellate Division determined that the statute did not require a physical examination and upheld the denial of compassionate release. Today, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Hoffman, the Supreme Court agreed that no physical examination was required, but reversed the denial of compassionate relief as insupportable....

Prosecutor's Prejudicial Comments During Summation Required Vacation of Conviction on Weapons and Criminal Restraint Charges

State v. Kelly, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). Judge Gummer wrote the panel's opinion in this case. The panel reversed defendant's conviction on weapons and criminal restraint charges, based on a set of facts remarkably similar to those in State v. Daniels, 182 N.J. 80 (2004)....