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

Another Suppression of Evidence Appeal Gets to the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in State v. Roundtree. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Did the police officers initially...

Videotaped Deposition May be Replayed During Summation

Hayes v. Delamotte, 231 N.J. 373 (2018). Today saw the issuance of the Supreme Court's first opinion of 2018. The case, a personal injury matter arising out of an auto...

62 Years Since Appeal of Pennsylvania R. Co., a Key Case on Leave to Appeal

On this date in 1956, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in In re Pennsylvania R. Co., 20 N.J. 398 (1956). Along with Romano v. Maglio, 41 N.J. Super. 561...

The Supreme Court Grants Review of an Environmental Land Use Case

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in N.J. Highlands Coalition v. New Jersey Dep't of Environmental Protection. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's...

Failure to Submit Affidavit of Merit Timely Does Not Always Call for Dismissal With Prejudice

A.T v. M. Cohen, M.D., 231 N.J. 237 (2017). "This was an appeal as of right in a medical malpractice case in which plaintiff was a minor. Due to counsel's...

The Supreme Court Adds More Cases

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in three more cases. Two of them are criminal matters, and the third arises out of a criminal case while presenting...

Advance Disclaimer by Employee of Right to Sue Third Party for Injuries Covered by Workers' Compensation Statutes Violates Public Policy

Vitale v. Schering-Plough Corp., 231 N.J. 234 (2017). Plaintiff was hired as a security guard by a security company. The company required him to agree to waive any claim against...

The Supreme Court Takes Up Accutane Appeals and an Evidence Matter

The Supreme Court announced late last Friday that it has granted review in three more cases. Two of those cases involve the long-running Accutane Multi-County Litigation, which the Court has...

Another Criminal Justice Reform Act Case for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted leave to appeal in State v. Pinkston. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's Office, is "In this...

The Supreme Court Grants Review in Five More Cases

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in five more cases. One of those is a land use matter. The other four run the gamut from administrative law...

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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....