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

The Supreme Court Says That Buck v. Henry Meant What It Said

Wiggins v. Hackensack Meridian Health, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). This medical malpractice wrongful death appeal arose under the Affidavit of Merit ("AOM") statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-26 et seq., and the Patients First Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-41. Those statutes, whose history Justice Fasciale laid out in detail, require, in short, that a malpractice plaintiff provide an affidavit of merit from an expert who specializes in the same "specialty or subspecialty" as the defendant doctor if that doctor has a specialty....

January, So Far

With the coming of the new year, this blog went onto a new platform. That fact, along with a Supreme Court oral argument and a Committee on Character hearing last week, has left this blog behind as 2025 begins. Our appellate courts, however, have been active. Here are summaries of their January 2025 published opinions to date:...

The "Time of Application Rule" Under the Municipal Land Use Law

Hoboken for Responsible Cannabis, Inc. v. City of Hoboken Planning Bd., 480 N.J. Super. 357 (App. Div. 2024). This land use decision, written by Judge Firko, is the final published...

The Supreme Court Will Review Four Unpublished Appellate Division Decisions

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in four new matters. All of those involve unpublished opinions of the Appellate Division. In State v. Taylor, the question presented...

One From the Supreme Court and One From the Appellate Division

Rodriguez v. Shelbourne Spring, LLC, ___ N.J. ___ (2024). The first signed opinion of the current Term was by Justice Fasciale. The Court addressed issues relating to whether Hartford Underwriters...

Court-Appointed Attorney and Temporary Guardian in "Alleged Incapacitated Person" Case Under Rule 4:86 Have No Right to Fees Against Office of Adult Protective Services

In the Matter of A.D., an Alleged Incapacitated Person, ___ N.J. ___ (2024). This case was an appeal from a decision of the Appellate Division, discussed here, that the Office...

Can a Municipality be Sanctioned Under the Frivolous Litigation Statute? The Supreme Court Will Decide

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in Borough of Englewood Cliffs v. Trautner. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Is a...

Charity Care, A Graves Act Issue, and a Warrantless Search of an Arrestee's Vehicle at a Police Station Come Before the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in three new appeals. The lone civil case in that group is Englewood Hospital & Medical Center v. State of New...

Last Week in the Appellate Division

Today is Election Day, and courts are closed. That offers the opportunity to catch up with the Appellate Division, which issued three published opinions last week. Here are summaries of...

Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week: Can Sea Bright Seek to Withdraw From the Oceanport School District and Join a Different District?

On Tuesday, October 1, judges on Part F will hear oral argument in In the Matter of the Verified Petition for the Proposed Creation of a PK-12 All-Purpose Regional School...

1 2 3 456 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 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56…Last

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."...