NJ Appellate Law Blog

City/State Location of Calls to/from Public Employees' Government-Provided Cellphones are Not Private

Livecchia v. Borough of Mount Arlington, 421 N.J. Super. 24 (App. Div. 2011). North Jersey Newspapers Co. v. Passaic Cty. Bd. of Freeholders, 127 N.J. 9 (1992), held that "the people...

Individual Owners, Officers or Employees, as Well as Their Companies, Can be Liable for Violation of Consumer Fraud Act Regulations

Allen v. V and A Bros., Inc.., 208 N.J. 114 (2011). The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 et seq. ("CFA"), makes liable any "person" who violates the CFA. In...

In Applying Statutes, Don't be Overly Literal

Mahwah Realty Associates, Inc. v. Mahwah Tp.., 420 N.J. Super. 341 (App. Div. 2011). Out of the lengthy procedural history of this land use matter comes the simple message that...

Homeowner Can Sue Building Contractor for Consumer Fraud Even Where Homeowner Has Acted as His Own General Contractor

Murnane v. Finch Landscaping, LLC, 420 N.J. Super. 331 (App. Div. 2011). Does the fact that a homeowner acts as his own general contractor in dealing with multiple contractors on...

The Supreme Court Discusses, for the First Time, Two Exceptions to the Open Public Records Act

Kovalcik v. Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, 206 N.J. 581 (2011). The Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 to -13 ("OPRA"), makes "government records," as broadly defined in OPRA, generally accessible. However, the right of access...

Two Lessons in Reading Title 39

Perrelli v. Pastorelle, 206 N.J. 193 (2011); Voss v. Tranquilino, 206 N.J. 93 (2011). Yesterday, the Supreme Court decided two cases involving two different sub-sections of N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.5. Both cases...

Statute Extending Limitations Period for Environmental Claims by the State Covers Common Law Strict Liability Cause of Action

New Jersey Dep't of Environmental Protection v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 420 N.J. Super. 395 (App. Div. 2011). N.J.S.A. 58:10B-17.1(b) ("the extension statute") extends the normal statute of limitations for environmental...

Retired Assistant Prosecutor/DAG is Not a "Retired Law Enforcement Officer" Entitled to a Gun Permit

In re Denial of Application of Giles W. Casaleggio for a Retired Law Enforcement Officer Handgun Permit, 420 N.J. Super. 121 (App. Div. 2011). Giles Casaleggio retired from a career in which he...

Tax Appeal Filed by Someone Other Than Taxpayer is Ineffective

Prime Accounting Dep't v. Township of Carney's Point, 421 N.J. Super. 199 (App. Div. 2011). A complaint that sought to contest the assessment of certain property was filed in the Tax...

"Shall" We? Is it "Necessary"?

In re State Bd. of Education's Denial of Petition to Adopt Regulations Implementing the New Jersey High School Voter Registration Law, 2011 WL 1529734 (App. Div. 2011). Public interest organizations submitted a...

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In Primary Election Dispute, the Supreme Court Declines to Rewrite Election Laws to Create Remedies Not Afforded by Those Statutes

Johnson v. Wilkerson, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Chief Justice Rabner's opinion for a unanimous Court follows on the Court's September 19, 2025 Order that upheld a ruling by Judge Sabatino in an emergent appeal by a candidate for a Roselle council seat. That Order stated that an opinion would follow....

Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week: Two Well-Known Law Firms Face Off Against Each Other, as Parties

Tomorrow, October 28, judges on Part E of the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Nagel Rice, LLP v. Starkey, Kelly, Kenneally, Cunningham & Turnbach. It is relatively rare for one law firm to sue another, but that has occurred here....

Two Certified Question Cases From the Third Circuit, and a Related Grant of Leave to Appeal, for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in three new matters. Two of them involve questions certified to the Court by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, under Rule 2:12A. It is relatively rare for the Court to receive, and rarer for it to grant, petitions to decide certified questions, and it appears unprecedented for the Court to have granted review in two such cases at the same time. The other new case is a grant of leave to appeal to address one of the same issues presented in one of the certified question matters....

Still Another Committee on Character Anniversary

This blog has in the past noted anniversaries of Supreme Court decisions involving appeals from the Court's Committee on Character, on which I served for fifteen years. Today is another such anniversary, as on October 22, 1997, the Court decided In re Triffin, 151 N.J. 510 (1997)....