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

If a Defendant Waives a Personal Jurisdiction Defense, a Court Cannot Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

Triffin v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Auth., 462 N.J. Super. 172 (App. Div. 2020). Judge Fisher issued the Appellate Division's opinion on this appeal just eight days after it was argued....

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

Delanoy v. Township of Ocean, 462 N..J. Super. 78 (App. Div. 2020). The first New Jersey state court published opinion of 2020 goes to Judge Sabatino. The case arose under...

No Personal Jurisdiction Over New York Doctor Who Treated New Jersey Patient Only in New York

Pullen v. Galloway, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2019). This medical malpractice/wrongful death appeal involved the question of whether New Jersey state courts had personal jurisdiction over defendant doctors...

Three More Supreme Court Grants of Review

The Supreme Court announced that is has granted certification in three more cases. Two of them are criminal appeals. The third is an insurance case in which, due to a...

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...

Waiver, Forfeiture, the Plain Error Doctrine, and the "Third Circuit Model Jury Instructions"

Robinson v. First State Community Action Agency, 920 F.3d 182 (3d Cir. 2019). This opinion by Judge Fuentes today affirms a plaintiff's verdict in a jury trial under the Americans...

A Unanimous Opinion by Judge Ambro, With a Concurring Opinion by Judge Ambro and Judge Greenaway. Huh?

United States v. Reese, 917 F.3d 177 (3d Cir. 2019). The Third Circuit issued this opinion today. As Judge Ambro's opinion for the unanimous panel stated at the very beginning,...

Another Less-Than-Direct Way of Trying to Impose an Arbitration Scheme Fails

Skuse v. Pfizer, Inc., 457 N.J. Super. 539 (App. Div. 2019). Sometimes, the first sentence of a judicial opinion tells you all you need to know about the result, even...

The Federal Tort Claims Act Statute of Limitations

Sconiers v. United States, 896 F.3d 595 (3d Cir. 2018). Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §2401(b) ("FTCA"), a tort claim against the United States is "forever barred...

Two More Criminal Cases for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it will review two more cases. Both are criminal appeals in which the Court granted certification. In State v. McNeil-Thomas, the question presented, as phrased...

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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....