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

Eyewitness Testimony and the Dram Shop Act

Halvorsen v. Villamil, 429 N.J. Super. 568 (App. Div. 2013). Does the Dram Shop Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:22A-1 to -7, which makes a licensed alcholic beverage server liable for serving a visibly intoxicated...

Non-Conforming Structure That is More Than "Partially" Destroyed Cannot be Rebuilt Without a Variance

Motley v. Seaside Park Bd. of Adj., 430 N.J. Super. 132 (App. Div. 2013). N.J.S.A. 40:55D-68 allows a non-conforming use or structure to be "restored or repaired in the event of partial...

A Pro-Plaintiff Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Decision From the Third Circuit

Caprio v. Healthcare Revenue Recovery Group, LLC, 709 F.3d 142 (3d Cir. 2013). The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §1692g ("FDCPA"), requires debt collectors to include in collection letters a "debt...

A Smorgasbord, Courtesy of Judge Fisher: Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Personal Jurisdiction, Forum Non Conveniens, and Service of Process

Tatham v. Tatham, 429 N.J. Super. 502 (App. Div. 2013). It is not often that a family law opinion touches on so many fundamental procedural issues. This opinion by Judge Fisher addresses...

A Class Action Plaintiff Must be a Member of the Class That He or She Seeks to Represent

Rosen v. Continental Airlines, Inc., 430 N.J. Super. 97 (App. Div. 2013). The holding of this decision affirmed a defense motion to dismiss this putative class action case for failure to state a claim. Plaintiff had...

Mount Laurel's Ban on Billboards is Not Unconstitutional

Interstate Outdoor Advertising, L.P. v. Mt. Laurel Tp. Bd. of Adj., 706 F.3d 527 (3d Cir. 2013). The Township of Mount Laurel, best known for its role in a series of affordable...

Condemning Authority Need Not Negotiate With Party Other Than Record Title Holder

Borough of Merchantville v. Malik & Son, LLC, 429 N.J. Super. 116 (App. Div. 2013). In this condemnation case, one of the defendants, LB-RPR REO Holdings, LLC ("LB"), the assignee of a...

2010 Amendment to Statute of Frauds Can Apply to Palimony Agreements Made Prior to Amendment's Effective Date

Maeker v. Ross, 430 N.J. Super. 79 (App. Div. 2013). In 2010, the Legislature amended the Statute of Frauds, N.J.S.A. 25:1-5(h), to cover "palimony" agreements, that is, "[a] promise by one party to...

"Equity Will Find a Way"

Estate of Murray v. Spiegle, 429 N.J. Super. 378 (App. Div. 2013). Judge Fisher, who sat in the Chancery Division before being elevated to the Appellate Division, wrote this opinion for a unanimous...

Arbitrator's Decision That the State Must, Against Its Will, Pay Part of Camden Firefighters' Salaries, is Reversed

In re City of Camden and International Ass'n of Firefighters, Local 788, 429 N.J. Super. 309 (App. Div. 2013). For over ten years, the City of Camden has been in such dire...

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The Last Seven Days

The last seven days, an especially busy period for me, featured one Supreme Court opinion and two published Appellate Division decisions. Here are summaries of those rulings:...

No Ethics Violation in Attorney Purchasing Another Attorney's Name as a Keyword for Internet Searches, the Supreme Court Says, With a Caveat

In re Opinion No. 735 of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). [Disclosure: I represented an amicus curiae in this appeal]. As Justice Noriega said in his opinion for a 5-1 majority (Justice Pierre-Louis did not participate), this appeal "presents the narrow question of whether it is permissible under the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) for an attorney or law firm to purchase a competing attorney's or law firm's name as a keyword." The Court found it permissible, with a caveat. Justice Fasciale dissented....

Four Criminal Law Cases, and a Qui Tam Appeal, for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in five new appeals. One of them is before the Court on leave to appeal, while in the others the Court granted certification....

The "Limited Attorney Exemption" of the Debt Adjustment and Credit Counseling Act is Held Unconstitutional as Violative of the Separation of Powers and Void for Vagueness

Anchor Law Firm, PLLC v. State of New Jersey, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The Debt Adjustment and Credit Counseling Act, N.J.S.A. 17:16G-1 et seq. ("DACCA"), prohibits debt adjusters in New Jersey from operating for a profit. There is an exception for attorneys not "principally engaged" (a term not defined in the statute) in debt adjustment. That exception, adopted in a 1986 amendment, replaced a prior version of the DACCA that had exempted all attorneys from its scope....