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

"Pent-Up" Demand for Low and Moderate Income Housing Must be Accounted for as Part of "Present Need"

In re Declaratory Judgment Actions Filed by Various Municipalities, 227 N.J. 508 (2017). In the Appellate Division decision in this case, reported at 446 N.J. Super. 259 (App. Div. 2016),...

Supreme Court Will Review a Long Term Tax Exemption Law Case

The Supreme Court has announced that it has granted review in EQR-LPC Urban Renewal North Pier, LLC v. City of Jersey City. The question presented in that appeal, as phrased...

Municipal Ban on Digital Billboards is Unconstitutional

E&J Equities v. Franklin Tp. Bd. of Adj. , 226 N.J. 549 (2016). Billboards are not everyone's favorite thing. Many view them as a blot on the landscape (and not...

As Expected, The Supreme Court Takes Up Another Affordable Housing Case, and Expedites the Appeal

In In re Declaratory Judgment Actions Filed by Various Municipalities, 446 N.J. Super. 259 (App. Div. 2016), discussed here (under the heading "Another Mount Laurel Case for the Supreme Court?"),...

Failure to File State Court Appeal of Municipal Land Use Board Decision Barred Appeal in Federal Court

DePolo v. Tredyffrin Tp. Bd. of Supervisors, 835 F.3d 381 (3d Cir. 2016). Jeffrey DePolo is a ham radio enthusiast in Pennsylvania. He applied to defendant Zoning Hearing Board of...

"Time of Application" Rule in Municipal Land Use Law is Construed in Favor of Developers

Jai Sai Ram, LLC v. South Toms River Planning and Zoning Bd., 446 N.J. Super. 338 (App. Div. 2016). As Judge Reisner stated in her opinion in this case today,...

Another Mount Laurel Case for the Supreme Court?

In re Declaratory Judgment Actions Filed by Various Municipalities, 446 N.J. Super. 259 (App. Div. 2016). It has been 41 years since the Supreme Court issued its original Mount Laurel...

45 Years Since Donadio v. Cunningham

In the federal system, Justice Brandeis' concurrence in Ashwander v. TVA, 297 U.S. 288 (1936), has been the source most often cited for the principle that courts will avoid reaching...

An "Attagirl" for Judge Chrystal in a Long-Running Mount Laurel Case

Cranford Development Associates v. Cranford Tp., 445 N.J. Super. 220 (App. Div. 2016). This Mount Laurel litigation resulted in a builder's remedy for construction of a 360-unit residential development in...

An Easy Statute of Limitations Case for the Supreme Court

In re Petition for Referendum to Repeal Ordinance 2354-12 of West Orange Tp., 223 N.J. 589 (2015). This appeal involved the timeliness of a challenge to a bond ordinance for...

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The Week Just Ending: Three Criminal Law Decisions

This week saw one case decided by the Supreme Court and two published opinions of the Appellate Division. The Supreme Court case, decided by a 6-1 vote, presented an ex post facto issue arising out of amendments to the statute governing parole. The two Appellate Division decisions entailed more "core" criminal law issues. Here are summaries of those cases:...

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."...