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

The NFL Learns a Lesson: Briefs With the Wrong Color Cover Get Bounced

This first post of 2016 reminds us all that appellate courts all have rules that dictate even mundane matters, such as the color of brief covers. Appellate judges take those...

A Separation of Powers Anniversary

On this date in 1992, the Supreme Court issued a landmark separation of powers opinion in Communications Workers of America v. Florio, 130 N.J. 439 (1992). There, state employees and...

An Easy Statute of Limitations Case for the Supreme Court

In re Petition for Referendum to Repeal Ordinance 2354-12 of West Orange Tp., 223 N.J. 589 (2015). This appeal involved the timeliness of a challenge to a bond ordinance for...

Important Choice of Law Decisions Coming From the Supreme Court

Yesterday, the Supreme Court announced that it had granted review in Ginsberg v. Quest Diagnostics, Inc., 441 N.J. Super. 198 (App. Div. 2015), briefly summarized here. (Confirming that nobody is...

Supreme Court Grants Review of a Class Action Appeal

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in Myska v. New Jersey Manufacturers Ins. Co., 440 N.J. Super. 458 (App. Div. 2015). [Disclosure: I am co-counsel for...

Court Rules Judge Clarkson Fisher Judge Douglas Wolfson Judge Garry Rothstadt Judge Marianne Espinosa

The Supreme Court of New Jersey Committee on Character evaluates applicants to the New Jersey Bar for their current character and fitness to practice law. [Disclosure: I was a member...

The 1,000th Post: A Rare Published Affirmance on the Opinion Below

In re Adoption of Monroe Tp. Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, 442 N.J. Super. 563 (App. Div. 2015). Many intermediate appellate courts frequently issue opinions that affirm on the...

An Anniversary of a Key Prerogative Writs Opinion

Sixty-five years ago today, on November 20, 1950, the Supreme Court decided Fischer v. Bedminster Tp., 5 N.J. 534 (1950). That opinion, written by Justice Heher, contains one of the...

Another Attempt to Compel Arbitration Based on Inadequate and Unclear Documents Fails

Barr v. Bishop Rosen & Co., Inc., 442 N.J. Super. 599 (App. Div. 2015). Both before and after Atalese v. U.S. Legal Servs. Grp., L.P., 219 N.J. 430 (2014), cert....

James v. Ruiz Leads to an Amended Model Civil Jury Charge

In James v. Ruiz, 440 N.J. Super. 45 (App. Div. 2015), discussed here, Judge Sabatino, who (in addition to his judicial duties) teaches evidence law at Rutgers-Camden Law School, addressed...

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A Municipal Court Administrator is Employed by the Township, Not the Administrative Office of the Courts

Palmisano v. State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The opening paragraph of Judge Marczyk's opinion for the Appellate Division well encapsulates what the appeal was about and what the result was. "Plaintiff Lindsay Palmisano appeals from the trial court's April 1, 2024 order dismissing her complaint with prejudice against defendant State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts and Municipal Division (AOC) pursuant to Rule 4:6-2(e). The primary issue on appeal is whether plaintiff, a municipal court administrator, is an employee of the AOC, thereby allowing her to assert a claim against the AOC under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49. Based on our review of the record and the applicable legal principles, we conclude plaintiff was employed by Vernon Township (Township), not the AOC, and, therefore, we affirm."...

Supreme Court to Take Up Two Published Appellate Division Opinions

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in two new appeals. One is before the Court on leave to appeal. The Court granted certification in the other matter....

South Seaside Park Can Detach Itself From Berkeley Township

Whiteman v. Township Council of Berkeley Township, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). South Seaside Park is a small (490 year-round residents) barrier island community that has been annexed to the Township of Berkeley ("the Township"). South Seaside Park sought to deannex itself from the Township and to be annexed instead to the Borough of Seaside Park. South Seaside Park followed a statutory petitioning procedure in doing so. The Township refused consent. South Seaside Park went to court and won a ruling from the Law Division that rejected the Township's refusal. The Appellate Division affirmed. Yesterday, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Patterson, the Supreme Court affirmed as well....

Megan's Law "Not Likely to Pose a Threat to the Safety of Others" Extends to Non-Sexual as Well as Sexual Re-Offenses

In re Registrant S.O., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). This appeal presented a pure legal issue relating to the "public safety prongs" contained in the termination provisions of Megan's Law, N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2(f), and the Community Supervision for Life statute ("CSL"), N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.4(c). Judge Vanek crystallized that "novel" issue as "whether, on a registrant's application to terminate Megan's Law and CSL obligations, the phrase ‘not likely to pose a threat to the safety of others' should be broadly interpreted with the trial court considering threats to safety from subsequent non-sexual and sexual offenses or whether the inquiry should be limited to the threat of sexual re-offense only." The panel held that the broader view was the correct one....