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

Equitable Distribution Statute Does Not Apply to Property Acquired During Cohabitation, But Equitable Principles Come to the Rescue

Thieme v. Aucoin-Thieme, 227 N.J. 269 (2016). Plaintiff and defendant cohabited for eight years, were married for a short time, and then divorced. Before and during the marriage, plaintiff had...

Supreme Court Will Review OPRA, Statute of Limitations, and Employment Contract Cases

The Supreme Court announced this afternoon that it has granted review in three more cases. The first is an Open Public Records Act ("OPRA") case, Paff v. Ocean County Prosecutor's...

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...

Supreme Court Will Review A Megan's Law Case and Another Criminal Matter

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review (one on a motion for leave to appeal and one on a petition for certification) in two more criminal cases. In...

Three More Cases for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that three more cases have been added to its docket. State v. Carrero, Jr. is before the Court by virtue of a dissent in the Appellate...

Catching Up With Supreme Court Grants of Review

I've missed a lot of days in the last several weeks. The Supreme Court, however, has been active. The Court announced grants of review in the following cases: In Lee...

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,...

1 N.J. 1 (1948)

Have you ever wondered about the very first opinion ever to appear in New Jersey Reports? If not (and it's certainly more than understandable if you have not expended time...

Three New Grants of Certification

The Supreme Court has announced that it has granted review in three new cases. The cases are an interesting assortment. In State v. Burkett, a criminal case, the question presented,...

A Judson Anniversary

As discussed here, many veteran lawyers know of Judson v. Peoples Bank & Trust Co. of Westfield, 17 N.J. 67 (1957), as the predecessor to Brill v. Guardian Life Ins....

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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....