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

The 2018-19 General Assignment Order

Chief Justice Rabner has issued the General Assignment Order for 2018-19. It is available here. The Appellate Division lineup again features Judge Messano as Presiding Judge for Administration and Judge...

Judges Mitterhoff, Natali, and Firko Are Promoted to the Appellate Division

Chief Justice Rabner has announced the elevation of three judges to the Appellate Division. Two of them, Judges Firko and Natali, have been serving on temporary assignment to the Appellate...

McCarrell Choice of Law Analysis Goes Against Legal Malpractice Plaintiff

MTK Food Services, Inc. v. Sirius America Ins. Co., 455 N.J. Super. 307 (App. Div. 2018). In McCarrell v. Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc., 227 N.J. 569 (2017), discussed here, the Supreme Court...

The Supreme Court Will Take Up a DNA Case

The Supreme Court has added one more case to its docket. That case is State v. Camey, in which the Court granted leave to appeal. The question presented, as phrased...

Rice Letters, and Making Meeting Minutes of Public Bodies "Promptly Available," Under the Open Public Meetings Act

Kean Federation of Teachers v. Morell, 233 N.J. 566 (2018). Yesterday's opinion by Justice LaVecchia reversed in part and affirmed as modified a decision of the Appellate Division that was...

The Common Law Continues to Evolve, and a Tort Duty May Consequently be Expanded

G.A.-H. v. K.G.G., 455 N.J. Super. 294 (App. Div. 2018). An emergency medical technician ("EMT"), designated as "Kenneth" in today's opinion by Judge Fisher, engaged in an unlawful sexual relationship...

Appellate Division Retirements (All Non-Mandatory) Are in the Offing

At last night's NJSBA Appellate Practice Committee meeting, it was announced that three judges of the Appellate Division will be retiring shortly. They are Judges Carroll, Leone, and Manahan. Each...

"Time of Application" Rule for Development Kicks in When All Documents Required by Ordinance Are Submitted

Dunbar Homes, Inc. v. Franklin Tp. Bd. of Adj., 233 N.J. 546 (2018). In a development application under the Municipal Land Use Law, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et seq. ("MLUL"), the law...

Municipal Official Whose Appointment Was Ultra Vires and Void Must Disgorge the Pay He Received

City Council of the City of Orange v. Edwards, 455 N.J. Super. 261 (App. Div. 2018). Willis Edwards III, the subject of today's decision by Judge Currier, is a former...

Another Criminal Case, and Two Cases Involving Civil Claims by Police Officers, Will Get Supreme Court Review

The Supreme Court has announced that it has granted review in three more cases. Two of them resulted from unpublished Appellate Division rulings in cases where police officers are the...

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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....