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

A Mixed Bag on Class Certification From the Third Circuit

Marcus v. BMW of North America, Inc., 687 F.3d 583 (3d Cir. 2012). "Run-flat" tires ("RFT's") are automobile tires that can, as their name implies, continue to run for 50...

The "Excusable Neglect" Standard for an Extension of Time to File a Notice of Appeal

Ragguette v. Premier Wines & Spirits, 691 F.3d 315 (3d Cir. 2012). Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(5) allows an extension of time to file a notice of appeal upon...

Seatbelt Law is Intended to Protect Public Health and Safety and Can be Used as a Predicate for Conviction of a Serious Crime

State v. Lenihan, 427 N.J. Super. 499 (App. Div. 2012). Would it not seem "obvious" that N.J.S.A. 39:3-76.2f, New Jersey's "seatbelt law," is intended to protect the public health and...

The Standard of Review for Final Certification in Fair Labor Standards Act Cases, and a Caution About Joint Appendices

Zavala v. Wal Mart Stores, Inc.., 691 F.3d 527 (3d Cir. 2012). This Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") decision, written by Judge Smith, rejects a collective action under the FLSA and...

Administrative Regulation Was Not Authorized by Statute, and Thus Could Not Bar Tuition Aid Grant to U.S. Citizen Whose Parents Are Not Legal New Jersey Residents

A.Z. v. Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, 427 N.J. Super. 389 (App. Div. 2012). As this opinion by Judge Ostrer describes, though administrative agency regulations are entitled to a presumption...

Rutgers Violated Open Public Meetings Act in Some Respects, But That Statute Gave Plaintiff No Remedy

McGovern v. Rutgers, The State University, 211 N.J. 94 (2012). Plaintiff complained that the Board of Governors of Rutgers, The State University, violated the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6...

A "Deadly" Administrative Law Decision

In re Challenge of New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association to Certain N.J.A.C. Amendments, 427 N.J. Super. 268 (App. Div. 2012). This case involved a challenge to amendments to administrative...

Foreign Citizen Whose Admission to the United States Limits Him to a Single Employer is Not "Available for Work" and Eligible for Unemployment Benefits When That Employer Discharges Him

Makutoff v. Board of Review, 427 N.J. Super. 218 (App. Div. 2012). Plaintiff, a Canadian citizen, was employed in this country under a limited work authorization issued by the Department...

Can an Insurer, Suspicious of Insurance Fraud, Require Health Providers Who Seek Reimbursement from the Insurer, to Supply Information About Their Ownership Structure and Billing Practices?

Selective Ins. Co. v. Hudson East Pain Management, 210 N.J. 597 (2012). Defendants provided medical treatment to patients who had personal injury protection ("PIP") insurance through plaintiff ("Selective"). The patients assigned their right to...

Child Support for Children Residing at College

Jacoby v. Jacoby, 427 N.J. Super. 109 (App. Div. 2012). Should child support change because the child has begun to live on campus at a college? Judge Lihotz, writing for the panel...

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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....