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

The Second Half of April

In the second half of April, the Supreme Court issued one published opinion and the Appellate Division delivered four such rulings. Here are summaries: C.R. v. M.T., 248 N.J. 428...

The County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey Is Not a Public Agency Subject to the Open Public Records Act

American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey v. County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey, 257 N.J. 87 (2024). The ACLU of New Jersey sought five categories of records from defendant...

The Supreme Court Reverses in Comprehensive Neurosurgical v. The Valley Hospital

Comprehensive Neurosurgical, P.C. v. The Valley Hospital, 257 N.J. 33 (2024). As discussed here, the question presented to the Supreme Court in this appeal, which was the subject of today's...

Five New Appeals for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in five new cases. All of them are civil matters. Three of the cases involved published opinions of the Appellate Division...

An Additur Anniversary

On April 1, 1957, the Supreme Court decided Fisch v. Manger, 24 N.J. 66 (1957). The key issue there was whether the practice of additur, under which a trial judge...

The Supreme Court Affirms in the State v. Harrell Confrontation Clause Case

State v. Harrell, 256 N.J. 590 (2024). As discussed here, this case presented the following question for the Supreme Court: "Under the circumstances presented, is the alleged victim's recorded statement...

The Supreme Court Takes Up Two Published Appellate Division Decisions

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in two new cases. Both cases were the subject of published opinions in the Appellate Division. In 257-261 20th Avenue Realty,...

"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...

Alcoholism As a Disability Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination: An Anniversary

On this date in 1988, the Supreme Court decided Clowes v. Terminix Int'l, Inc., 109 N.J 575 (1988). The Court's unanimous opinion, written by Justice Clifford, stated that "[t]he principal...

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and Emotional Support Animals in Condominiums

Players Place II Condominium Ass'n, Inc. v. K.P., 256 N.J. 472 (2024). This case came to the Supreme Court as of right, due to a dissent in the Appellate Division...

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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....