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

Appellate Division Statistics for the 2017-18 Term

The annual summary of Appellate Division statistics is out. They cover the 2017-18 Term, which ended on August 31, 2018. Once again, the figures have stayed remarkably consistent from year...

The Supreme Court Will Address "Not Raised Below," and Three Criminal Appeals

The Supreme Court has announced that it has granted certification in three cases, all criminal matters, and that a civil case will be before it on an appeal as of...

No Meeting of the Minds Where Arbitration Clause Did Not Specify Arbitration Forum or Process

Flanzman v. Jenny Craig, Inc., 456 N.J. Super. 613 (App. Div. 2018). This opinion by Judge Fasciale today is yet another case arising out of an arbitration clause. Plaintiff, having...

A Split Appellate Division Decision in a Medical Malpractice Case Goes to the Supreme Court

T.L. v. Goldberg, which was the subject of a reported Appellate Division opinion where the panel split 2-1 in favor of plaintiffs, reversing the Law Division and awarding plaintiffs a...

A Banner Day in the Appellate Division for Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC and Its Clients

Russo v. Friedrich, 2018 WL 4904555 (App. Div. Oct. 10, 2018); City of Newark Public Schools v. OPEIU Local 32, 2018 WL 4905414 (App. Div. Oct. 10, 2018). It's a...

The Supreme Court Adds to Its Criminal Docket (Plus a Tort Case)

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in four more cases. Three of those are criminal appeals. The fourth is a tort case relating to a residential...

A Class Action About Towing Charges, and a Mesothelioma Case About Apportionment, Will be Before the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted leave to appeal in one case and certification in another. Both cases doubtless will be closely watched. The Court granted leave to...

Another Consumer Arbitration Clause Case, and a Criminal Appeal, for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has granted certification in two new cases. The first is yet another matter involving whether and when consumer disputes can be forced into arbitration. That case (actually,...

The First Two Supreme Court Grants of Review of the New Term

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in two cases. These are the first grants (Nos. A-1 and A-2) of the current Term. The first appeal is Garden...

"Deemed Adopted" Administrative Law Judge Disciplinary Decision Gets the Same Deference on Appeal as Agency's Imposition of Discipline or Trial Court's Sentencing Decision

In re Hendrickson, 235 N.J. 145 (2018). This first Supreme Court opinion of the current Term is by Justice Albin. The opening paragraphs of his ruling concisely and completely describe...

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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....