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

Jury Waiver and Fee Award to Defendant in CEPA Case Are Overturned

Noren v. Heartland Payment Systems, Inc., 448 N.J. Super. 486 (App. Div. 2017). In Abbamont v. Piscataway Tp. Bd. of Educ., 238 N.J. Super. 603 (App. Div. 1990), aff'd, 138...

Mandatory Electronic Filing of Pretrial Detention Appeals Begins on January 1, 2017

This morning, the Appellate Division issued a Notice to the Bar, available here, to remind practitioners and appellants that, effective on January 1, 2017, appeals to the Appellate Division on...

The Appellate Division Rejects a Stipulated Dismissal of an Appeal From a Final Domestic Violence Restraining Order

J.S. v. D.S., 448 N.J. Super. 17 (App. Div. 2016). Normally, when parties agree to dismiss an appeal, the courts are only to happy to oblige. This opinion by Judge...

Appellate Division Oral Argument Dates and Attorney Vacations

The Appellate Division issued a Notice to the Bar today regarding oral argument in that court. That Notice, titled "Oral Argument in the Appellate Division," is available here. The Notice...

The Seven "C's" of Ethical Appellate Practice

I have posted elsewhere about the "four C's" for New Jersey Bar applicants before the Supreme Court Committee on Character. At last night's meeting of the New Jersey State Bar...

A Reminder From the Appellate Division About Recent Appellate Rule Changes

This morning, the Appellate Division published a notice to the bar that was dated August 26, 2016. That notice is available here. The intent of the notice is to highlight...

Amendments to the New Jersey Appellate Rules of Court, to be Effective on September 1, 2016

Today, the Supreme Court published an order dated August 1, 2016, which announced amendments to various court rules, all of which will take effect on September 1, 2016. That announcement...

New Jersey Lawyer Magazine's August 2016 Issue is Devoted Entirely to Appellate Practice

The August issue of New Jersey Lawyer magazine arrived in my mail today. It is a special issue devoted to appellate practice, with a total of thirteen articles on different...

Third Circuit Bench-Bar Conference in April 2017 in Lancaster, PA

The Third Circuit has posted a "save the date" notice, available here, for a bench-bar conference next year. The dates are April 19-21, 2017, and the venue will be Lancaster,...

"Purple Prose" Makes the Appellate Division See Red

McRae v. New Jersey Transit Bus Operations, Inc., 2016 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1598 (App. Div. July 8, 2016). Appellate advocates like to write in ways that make an impact....

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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....