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

An Insurance Rescission Anniversary

On January 16, 1991, the Supreme Court decided Mass. Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Manzo, 122 N.J. 104 (1991). The decision, a unanimous one written by Justice Pollock, addressed "whether...

Prosecution for Terroristic Threats: New Jersey Adopts One Component of U.S. Supreme Court's Counterman v. Colorado Decision, While Diverging as to Another Component

State v. Fair, 256 N.J. 213 (2024). "True threats" fall outside constitutional free speech protections. The issue in this case, in which Justice Wainer Apter wrote a unanimous opinion that...

This Week's Published Opinions

Another week, another week where work for clients made it impossible to keep up with the courts. This week featured two unanimous opinions from the Supreme Court, one civil, one...

Supreme Court Statistics for the 2022-23 Term

What better date to present statistics from the 2022-23 Supreme Court Term than the first working day (for many people) of this new calendar year? And who better to have...

The 45th Anniversary of Gilborges v. Wallace

On this date in 1978, the Supreme Court decided Gilborges v. Wallace, 78 N.J. 342 (1978). The case arose out of an auto accident that resulted in brain injuries to...

For the Second Day in a Row, A Per Curiam Affirmance on the Opinion Below by the Supreme Court

Meyers v. State Health Benefits Comm'n, 256 N.J. 94 (2023). Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion in a criminal case affirming a ruling of the Appellate Division...

The Supreme Court Affirms in State v. Rosado

State v. Rosado, 256 N.J. 93 (2023). As discussed here, the Appellate Division, in an opinion by Judge Gilson, held that a January 3, 2002 amendment to the criminal statute...

The Supreme Court Takes Up an IDEA Case

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in Board of Education of the Township of Sparta v. M.N. That is the first grant of review since October 24...

Another Short Week, and Another Catch-Up Post

In the past two weeks, an Appellate Division brief and a Supreme Court petition consumed much time. So, in this shortened Thanksgiving week, it's time to catch up on the...

Res Judicata Before Municipal Land Use Boards: An Anniversary

On this date in 1959, the Supreme Court decided Russell v. Board of Adjustment of Tenafly, 31 N.J. 58 (1959). The case is one of the earliest to address 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....