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

A Bail Reform Act Case, A "John Doe" Civil Case, and More Criminal Appeals Are Added to the Supreme Court's Docket

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in three cases. The first arises under the new Bail Reform Act. The question presented there, as phrased by the...

Sovereign Immunity Defeats Contribution Claims Against the State for Pre-Spill Act Discharges

NL Industries, Inc. v. State, 228 N.J. 280 (2017). In 1976, the Legislature passed the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act, N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11 to -23.24 ("the Spill Act"). The...

A Sanctions Anniversary

On this date in 2003, the Appellate Division decided Seacoast Builders Corp. v. Rutgers, 358 N.J. Super. 524 (App. Div. 2003). This was a relatively rare case in which the...

Rulings on Lack of Personal Jurisdiction and Forum Non Conveniens Normally Require a Discovery Record

Rippon v. Smigel, 449 N.J. Super. 344 (App. Div. 2017). This opinion by Judge Haas today reverses a dismissal that was based on lack of personal jurisdiction, forum non conveniens,...

The Supreme Court Adds Five More Cases

The Supreme Court has granted review in five cases. One of them is an appeal as of right, by virtue of a dissent in the Appellate Division. That case is...

Collateral Source Statute Does Not Apply to Awards Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination

Acevedo v. Flightsafety International, Inc., 449 N.J. Super. 185 (App. Div. 2017). In this opinion by Judge Reisner, the Appellate Division held that it was error for the Law Division...

Tomorrow's Anticipated Blizzard Affects Oral Arguments in New Jersey's Appellate Courts and in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals

The Supreme Court has announced that it has adjourned the oral arguments scheduled for tomorrow. One of the cases to be argued was a major consumer class action case, Dugan...

Tenant Who Receives a Rent Subsidy Under New Jersey's "S-RAP" Program Can't be Evicted for Non-Payment of Additional Rent

175 Executive House, LLC v. Miles, 449 N.J. Super. 197 (App. Div. 2017). A tenant who receives a rent subsidy under the federal "Section 8" voucher program, 42 U.S.C. §1437 to...

Two More Suppression of Evidence Cases for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted leave to appeal in two criminal cases, each of which addresses the suppression of evidence. In State v. Atwood, the question...

Failure to Pay Arbitration Fees Breaches Agreement That Requires Arbitration

Roach v. BM Motoring, LLC, 228 N.J. 163 (2017). Plaintiffs bought used cars from defendants. In connection with those purchases, plaintiffs signed Dispute Resolution Agreements ("DRA's") that required any disputes...

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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....