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

The Ninth Anniversary of New Jersey Appellate Law Blog

Today marks the ninth anniversary of this blog. As in past years, my thanks go out to all those who read, comment on, cite, forward, or otherwise make use of...

The Eighth Anniversary of New Jersey Appellate Law Blog

Today marks the eighth anniversary of this blog. As has been so every year, I'm grateful to the many jurists, lawyers, law students, and laypeople who read the blog. I'm...

Michael E. Patunas (1967-2018)

This is a very difficult post to write. Michael E. Patunas was my colleague at Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC for more than fifteen years. He was my partner for a...

A Break in the Action

Due to my personal schedule, posts will not appear here for at least one week from today. They will likely resume sometime later next week....

The Supreme Court Takes Up a Firefighter's Claim for Temporary Disability Benefits

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in Kocanowski v. Bridgewater Tp. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's Office, is "Is claimant, a volunteer...

The Seventh Anniversary of New Jersey Appellate Law Blog

Today is the seventh anniversary of this New Jersey Appellate Law blog. It's been another year of interesting cases and other appellate developments, and it's nice to see that the...

Another Accutane Decision, and a Big Win for Plaintiffs

, 451 N.J. Super. 153 (App. Div. 2017). [Disclosure: I was one of the counsel who argued this appeal for the successful plaintiffs]. This must be Accutane week. On Tuesday,...

It's ABA Web 100 Time

The ABA Journal's annual list of top legal blogs, previously known as the ABA Blawg 100, has been expanded this year to cover such things as law firm websites and...

Editorial: Tomorrow is Election Day

Tomorrow is Election Day. This election presents one of the most consequential choices between major party candidates for President of the United States that this nation has ever seen. When...

Judge Sabatino's Ruling That Choice of Law Decisions Can be Made Defendant-by-Defendant is Affirmed by the Supreme Court

Ginsberg v. Quest Diagnostics, Inc., 227 N.J. 7 (2016). Last year, the Appellate Division, speaking through Judge Sabatino, issued a lengthy opinion in this choice of law case. That decision,...

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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....