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

Abbott v. Burke XXI (or is it XXII?)- Lots of Appellate Practice Issues

Abbott v. Burke, 206 N.J. 332 (2011). The merits of this latest decision on the funding necessary to satisfy the mandate of article VIII, section 4, paragraph 1 of the New...

A Solomonic Decision Under Rule 4:5-1(b)(2)

Kent Motor Cars, Inc. v. Reynolds & Reynolds Co., 207 N.J. 428 (2011). Rule 4:5-1(b)(2) requires the first pleading of each party to disclose the names of any non-party who...

1968: The Year of the "Discovery Rule"

The Supreme Court of New Jersey decided several cases in 1968 that began the expansion of the discovery rule in New Jersey. On this date, the Court decided Diamond v. New...

The Best Paragraph Ever from the Supreme Court of New Jersey

Today is the anniversary of New Jersey Ass'n for Retarded Citizens v. New Jersey Dep't of Human Services, 89 N.J. 234 (1982). That case was an action on behalf of retarded...

Pacifico Clarified

Sachau v. Sachau, 206 N.J. 1 (2011). In Pacifico v. Pacifico, 190 N.J. 258 (2007), the Supreme Court held that where a divorce agreement provides that the sale of a marital home is...

An Anniversary in the Law of Sidewalk Liability

For many years, New Jersey followed the rule that an abutting property owner, even a commercial property owner, could not be liable for injuries suffered by a pedestrian on a defective or...

Supreme Court Nomination Logjam is Broken

Governonr Chris Christie and Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney have reached agreement on how to handle the long-pending Supreme Court nomination of Anne Patterson. The Governor will withdraw her nomination...

A Vist from Justice Breyer

Two episodes of New Jersey Network's television program "Due Process," which are currently scheduled to air in June, will feature an interview with Supreme Court of the United States Justice Stephen Breyer by hosts Raymond Brown...

One Plaintiff is a Catalyst for Relief, But Another Plaintiff is Not

Smith v. Hudson County Register, 2011 WL 1529730 (App. Div. April 25, 2011). This opinion, by Judge Sabatino, applied the catalyst doctrine to an Open Public Records Act ("OPRA") case. In Mason...

Judge Stern Writes a 4-3 Majority Opinion, and Justice Rivera-Soto Joins That Opinion

State v. W.B., 205 N.J. 588 (2011). After some twists and turns, recounted here, Justice Rivera-Soto stated that he would vote in cases where Judge Stern, who has been temporarily assigned 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....