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

When Can an LLC Expel a Member?

IE Test, LLC v. Carroll, 226 N.J. 166 (2016). Until it was superseded by the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, N.J.S.A. 42:2C-1 to -94 ("RULLCA"), on March 18, 2013,...

Due Process Requires Counsel for an Indigent Parent in a Private Adoption Case That Would Terminate Parental Rights

In re Adoption of a Child by J.E.V. and D.G.V., 226 N.J. 90 (2016). In this unanimous opinion, authored by Chief Justice Rabner, the Supreme Court ruled that an indigent...

Trial Courts May Not Take Away a Jury Trial as a Sanction for a Rule Violation

Williams v. American Auto Logistics, 226 N.J. 117 (2016). Parties who fail to follow procedural rules are a source of frustration to busy trial judges. As Justice Fernandez-Vina noted in...

Supreme Court Grants Review of Two TCCWNA/CFA Class Certification Decisions

The Supreme Court has granted certification of class certification decisions in two cases under the Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 et seq., and the Truth in Consumer Contract, Warranty, and...

Supreme Court Will Review OPRA Metadata Case

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Supreme Court has granted review of the Appellate Division's decision in Paff v. Galloway Tp., 444 N.J. Super. 495 (App. Div. 2016). That decision...

Future Advance Mortgages: The Law From the Past Remains the Law (With Perhaps One Exception) in the Present

Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc. v. Benun, 226 N.J. 41 (2016). A future advance mortgage, in broad outline, is a mortgage that secures a loan that is made in stages, rather...

A "Graduating Class" Means a Group of Students Who Complete an Educational Program and Receive Diplomas or Certificates in the Same Given Year

In re Revocation or Suspension of Provisional Accreditation of Eastwick College LPN-to-RN Bridge Program, 225 N.J. 533 (2016). As Justice Patterson reminded us in her opinion in this case today,...

Supreme Court Grants Review in Hurricane Sandy Case

The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it has granted certification in Oxford Realty Group Cedar v. Travelers Excess & Surplus Lines Co. The question presented, as framed by the Supreme...

The Supreme Court Answers a Certified Question About Take-Home Toxic Torts

Schwartz v. Accuratus Corp., 225 N.J. 517 (2016). A "take-home toxic tort" is very different than a take-home final examination or take-out foods. It refers to a cause of action...

Summary Judgment for Breach of Settlement Agreement Reversed Due to Issues of Fact

Globe Motor Co. v. Igdalev, 225 N.J. 469 (2016). One of the fundamental principles of summary judgment jurisprudence is that a court cannot grant summary judgment when there are genuine...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 596061 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99…Last

"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....