NJ Appellate Law Blog

Appeals From a Municipal Court to the Law Division Require a Hearing

State v. Jang, 478 N.J. Super. 252 (App. Div. 2024). A party unhappy with a ruling by a Municipal Court may appeal to the Law Division for a trial de...

"Illusory Discounts" Violate the Consumer Fraud Act, But Private Plaintiffs Cannot Prevail

Robey v. SPARC Group, LLC, 256 N.J. 541 (2024). Today saw a relatively rare 4-3 decision from the Supreme Court. The majority consisted of Justice Solomon, the author of the...

The Entire Controversy Continues to Have Potency

Francavilla v. Absolute Resolutions VI, LLC, 478 N.J. Super. 171 (App. Div. 2024). Judge Vanek wrote this opinion for the Appellate Division in this putative class action case. Her first...

"Compact" Ward Boundaries Under the Municipal Ward Law

Jersey City United Against the New Ward Map v. Jersey City Ward Commission, 478 N.J. Super. 132 (App. Div. 2024). [Disclosure: My firm, Lite DePalma Greenberg & Afanador, LLC, represents...

To Start the Week, A Catch-Up Post

While the Supreme Court has been quiet since it handed down this decision, the Appellate Division has issued six published opinions during the recent period. Here are summaries of those...

The Civil Practice Committee Recommends One Appellate Rule Change

The Supreme Court Civil Practice Committee has issued its 2024 report, which addresses recommended changes to Court Rules as well as Rule change proposals not recommended. The report is available...

Two Published Opinions From the Appellate Division

So far this week, the Appellate Division has issued two published opinions. Here are summaries: 257-261 20th Avenue Realty, LLC v. Roberto, 477 N.J. Super. 339 (App. Div. 2023). This...

Relevant Statutes Bar Attempt to Compel Office of Adult Protective Services to Pay Fees of Court-Appointed Attorney and Temporary Guardian in Guardianship Case

In re A.D., 477 N.J. Super. 288 (App. Div. 2023). In this appeal, an attorney and a temporary guardian sought fees for their services. The Law Division had denied their...

Another Short Week, and Another Catch-Up Post

In the past two weeks, an Appellate Division brief and a Supreme Court petition consumed much time. So, in this shortened Thanksgiving week, it's time to catch up on the...

The Limits of the Offer of Judgment Rule

J.P. Electric, Inc. v. LPMG Construction Management, LLC, 477 N.J. Super. 125 (App. Div. 2023). Judge Sabatino frequently writes long, intricate opinions on complex issues. Today, however, he authored the...

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The Sixteenth Anniversary of New Jersey Appellate Law Blog

Yesterday marked the sixteenth anniversary of this blog. It has been a great year, with more readers, more subscribers, and the placement of posts on LinkedIn for the first time, so that readers have an additional place to find this blog's posts. And the blog reached the milestone of 2,500 posts. As always, my thanks go to the many jurists, attorneys, law faculty and students, and "just plain citizens" who are interested enough in New Jersey appellate law developments to take the time to read this blog. On to year 17!...

Lisa Bigony Appointed Deputy Clerk of the Appellate Division

Chief Justice Rabner announced that Lisa D. Bigony has been named Appellate Division Deputy Clerk for Case Processing, effective today. In that role, according to a press release, she will be "responsible for oversight of the various units of case processing, including paralegal and legal, case processing, Civil Appeals Settlement Program, public access unit, calendaring, final disposition, and records and reception."...

The Supreme Court Grants Review of the Threshold Dismissal of a Trust and Estates Case

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in Dill v. Offray. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Under the circumstances presented, should the Appellate Division have remanded the matter to the trial court after it held that defendant had standing to assert a counterclaim covering the period of time when the prior beneficiary of the trust was alive, and did defendant state a cognizable claim under the Prudent Investor Act ["PIA"], N.J.S.A. 3B:20-11.1 to -11.12?"...

The 2,500th Post on This Blog: Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week- Need Rutgers University Obtain State Approval Before Offering Its Academic Programming to Students?

On Tuesday, September 29, judges on the Appellate Division's Part D will hear oral argument in In the Matter of the Applicability of Certain Statutes and Regulations to Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. The issue is whether New Jersey's Secretary of Higher Education wrongly determined that Rutgers is obligated to comply with regulations promulgated by the Secretary in 2022 that require colleges and universities subject to the Secretary's jurisdiction to go through a process of having their programmatic decisions approved by the Secretary....