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

The Supreme Court Grants Review in Five More Cases

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in five more cases. One of those is a land use matter. The other four run the gamut from administrative law...

Judge Michael Patrick King (1935-2017)

Judge Michael Patrick King, one of the longest-serving members of the Appellate Division, died on November 25, as was revealed publicly today here. A graduate of Fordham University and the...

Judge Lisa Rose Will Again be Temporarily Assigned to the Appellate Division

Chief Justice Rabner announced today that Judge Lisa Rose will be temporarily assigned to the Appellate Division effective January 2, 2018. Judge Rose, who had been temporarily assigned to the...

To Resolve an Arbitrability Dispute, Cut the Complaint in Two, the Appellate Division Says

Greenbriar Oceanaire Community Ass'n, Inc. v. U.S. Home Corp., 452 N.J. Super. 340 (App. Div. 2017). [Disclosure: I represent U.S. Home, though not in this case]. In today's decision in...

Two "Affirmed on the Opinion Below" Rulings From the Supreme Court

Yesterday and today, the Supreme Court did what it does not often do: affirm a decision of the Appellate Division substantially for the reasons expressed by the Appellate Division, rather...

The Supreme Court Will Decide an Administrative Law Standard of Review Issue and a Ruling Involving PIP Benefits

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in two new cases. The first is In re William R. Hendrickson, Jr. The question presented there, as phrased by the...

The Smoke-Free Act Does Not Preempt A Municipal Ordinance Limiting Smoking in Retail Tobacco Establishments

Sparroween, LLC v. Township of West Caldwell, 452 N.J. Super. 329 (App. Div. 2017). Plaintiffs operated the Cigar Emporium in West Caldwell. In that business, they sell tobacco products, but...

A Marijuana Case Likely Headed for the Supreme Court

Kadonsky v. Lee, 452 N.J. Super. 198 (App. Div. 2017). In this appeal, plaintiff petitioned the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs ("the Division") to have marijuana rescheduled from a...

A Brokerage Commission Case, Where the Broker's Third-Party Beneficiary, Unjust Enrichment, and Quantum Meruit Claims Failed

Pollack v. Quick Quality Restaurants, Inc., 452 N.J. Super. 174 (App. Div. 2017). The first paragraph of Judge Gibbons Whipple's opinion for the Appellate Division well encapsulated what this appeal...

A Photographic Array Appeal for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in State v. Anthony. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Is defendant entitled to...

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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....