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

Most Arguments Not Raised Below Won't be Considered on Appeal

This first post of 2013 discusses a fundamental principle of appellate review: "our appellate courts will decline to consider questions or issues not properly presented to the trial court when...

Hoffman v. Supplements Togo Settles

As reported here, the Supreme Court of New Jersey previously granted review of Hoffman v. Supplements Togo Management, LLC, 419 N.J. Super. 596 (App. Div. 2011), a putative consumer class action...

Supreme Court Will Review Beim v. Hulfish

The Supreme Court announced this morning that it has granted certification in Beim v. Hulfish, 427 N.J. Super. 560 (App. Div. 2012). The decision of the Appellate Division was discussed here. The...

Governor Christie Nominates Two to the Supreme Court

Governor Christie announced today that he was nominating Robert Hanna and Judge David Bauman to fill the two Supreme Court seats now occupied by temporarily-assigned judges of the Appellate Division....

The U.S. Supreme Court Says it Again: It is for the Arbitrator, Not a Court, to Decide Whether a Contract Containing an Arbitration Clause is Valid

Nitro-Lift Technologies, LLC v. Howard, 133 S.Ct. 500 (2012). In a line of cases that includes Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Mfg. Co., 388 U.S. 395 (1967), and Buckeye Check...

Rarer Than a Purple Cow: Denial of Certification, Reconsideration, and Then a Grant of Certification

On this date in 1991, a rarity occurred. In Perini Corp. v. Greate Bay Hotel & Casino, Inc., 127 N.J. 546 (1991), the Supreme Court had denied both a petition...

"The Last 100 Feet Leading to a Polling Place Belong to the Voters on Election Day"

Since today is Election Day, it is an especially appropriate time to revisit the Supreme Court's decision in In re Attorney General's "Directive on Exit Polling: Media and Non-Partisan Public Interest...

Supreme Court Will Review O'Boyle v. Longport

The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it has granted certification to review O'Boyle v. Borough of Longport, 426 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2012), an Open Public Records Act case. The Appellate Division's...

"Affirmed by an Equally Divided Court"

In re Parentage of a Child by T.J.S. and A.L.S., 212 N.J. 334 (2012). As summarized in the syllabus (a convenient but admittedly not authoritative source), the issue was "whether the New Jersey...

New Jersey Appellate Law Blog's Second Anniversary

Today is the second anniversary of New Jersey Appellate Law blog. The past year has been a busy one. The 225 posts since last October 18 have commented on events ranging from...

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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....