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

2015 Omnibus Rule Amendment Order Contains One Appellate Rule Change

The Supreme Court has published its 2015 Omnibus Rule Amendment Order, which is available here. That Order contains amendments to several dozen Court Rules and appendices, and also adds new...

An Unusual Lineup in the Supreme Court

Ross v. Lowitz, 222 N.J. 494 (2015). This case involved damage resulting from the migration of home heating oil from an underground storage tank on one property onto a neighboring...

Length of Marriage is Not Alone Dispositive as to Alimony

Gnall v. Gnall, 222 N.J. 414 (2015). N.J.S.A. 2A:14-23(b) lists twelve factors, plus a "catch-all" thirteenth factor, that are to be considered in determining whether to award alimony. One of...

When Can Someone Become an Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court) on Appeal?

There are times when a non-party to a case would like to have his, her, or its views heard by an appellate court. A way to do that is to...

"Retired and on Recall" Superior Court Judges are Constitutional, Supreme Court Says in State v. Buckner

State v. Buckner, 223 N.J. 1 (2015). In one of the biggest cases of the current the Supreme Court term, the Court today upheld the practice of permitting retired judges...

Employee's Comparative Negligence in Workplace Accident Case Can be Submitted to the Jury

Fernandes v. DAR Development Corp., 222 N.J. 390 (2015). Kane v. Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc., 278 N.J. Super. 129 (App. Div.1994), aff'd o.b., 143 N.J. 141 (1996), ruled that the...

The Anniversary of the "Seat Belt Defense" Decision

Twenty seven years ago today, the Supreme Court decided Waterson v. General Motors Corp., 111 N.J. 238 (1988). Until then, the Court had not spoken about the effect of seat...

"Watchdog" Employees are Entitled to Full Protection Under CEPA

Lippman v. Ethicon, Inc., 222 N.J. 362 (2015). In 2013, the Appellate Division determined that so-called "watchdog" employees (that is, employees whose job it is to bring forward issues relating...

For Want of a Comma…. Qualified Immunity Protects Law Enforcement Officers Sued Under the Civil Rights Act

Morillo v. Monmouth County Sheriff's Officers, 222 N.J. 104 (2015). It has long been the case, especially under the federal Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §1983, that law enforcement officers...

25 Years Since Frank v. Ivy Club

This year, today is the day when Independence Day, which falls on July 4, is observed, and so the courts are closed. But in some other years, the courts have...

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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....