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

Supreme Court Says TCCWNA Gives Broad Protections to Consumers

Shelton v. Restaurant.com, Inc., 214 N.J. 419 (2013). [Disclosure: I argued this case in the Supreme Court for the successful plaintiffs]. This consumer protection case has had a long odyssey. Originally filed...

Both General and Special Benefits Must be Considering in Valuing "Just Compensation" for Takings

Borough of Harvey Cedars v. Karan, 214 N.J. 384 (2013). Using the power of eminent domain, the Borough of Harvey Cedars took a portion of defendants' beachfront property (actually, the Borough took...

The Supreme Court Resolves a Family Business Dispute

Sipko v. Koger, Inc., 214 N.J. 364 (2013). Sometimes, it is not clear why the Supreme Court grants review. When the Court granted certification in this case, which involved a dispute among...

"Appearance of Impropriety" Standard Continues to Apply to Quasi-Judicial Municipal Bodies

Kane Properties, LLC v. City of Hoboken, 214 N.J. 199 (2013). This opinion by Justice Hoens affirms, as modified, the decision of the Appellate Division in this municipal land use matter, reported at...

Use Variance Applicant Need Not Show That Subject Property is the Only Available Site for the Use

Price v. Himeji, LLC, 214 N.J. 263 (2013). Himeji, LLC applied to the Union City Board of Adjustment for a use variance, density, height, and other variances, and a waiver necessary for the construction of a...

Supreme Court Will Review Merchantville v. Malik

The Supreme Court announced this morning that it has granted review in Borough of Merchantville v. Malik & Son, LLC, 429 N.J. Super. 116 (App. Div. 2013). The decision of the...

Two Issues Under the Construction Statute of Repose

Town of Kearny v. Brandt, 214 N.J. 76 (2013). Deciding when the ten-year construction statute of repose, N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1.1, begins to run is often a difficult issue for courts. In this case,...

Supreme Court Denies Review of Senatorial Election Dispute

This afternoon, the Supreme Court issued an Order denying plaintiffs' petition for certification in this election matter. As the Order notes, that disposition moots plaintiffs' request for emergent relief. The special...

Supreme Court Schedules Briefing on Senatorial Election Challenge

The Supreme Court has issued a schedule for briefing on the emergent appeal by parties challenging Governor Christie's scheduling of special elections to fill the United States Senate seat held by Senator Lautenberg...

Ski Act Does Not Govern Accidents Between Skiers

Angland v. Mountain Creek Resort, Inc., 213 N.J. 99 (2013). Plaintiffs' decedent had a skiing accident with a snowboarder, from which plaintiff's' decedent later died. His estate sued the ski area and 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....