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

Self- Defense is a Complete Defense to All Types of Homicide

State v. Martinez, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). This appeal arose out of an inconsistent verdict by a jury that considered charges of murder, passion/provocation manslaughter, weapons charges, and other crimes not the subject of this published opinion by Judge Jacobs (other counts were addressed in the longer, unpublished version of this opinion). The jury had been charged as follows regarding self-defense:...

The Days Before Christmas

No one can say that in the days before Christmas, "not a creature was stirring" in our appellate courts. The Supreme Court issued one decision and the Appellate Division published...

Five New Supreme Court Grants of Review

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in five new appeals. Two of those entailed motions for leave to appeal, while the Court granted certification in the other...

The Supreme Court Reverses in Comprehensive Neurosurgical v. The Valley Hospital

Comprehensive Neurosurgical, P.C. v. The Valley Hospital, 257 N.J. 33 (2024). As discussed here, the question presented to the Supreme Court in this appeal, which was the subject of today's...

The End of Last Week

Even as many people were throttling back in anticipation of the long holiday weekend that culminated in Christmas day, the Appellate Division issued three published opinions late last week. Here...

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...

Resolution of the "Borrowed Employee" Issue under Galvao v. G.R. Robert Construction Co. is For the Jury, Not a Judge

Pantano v. New York Shipping Ass'n, 254 N.J. 101 (2023). Judge Sabatino wrote this 6-0 opinion, which involved "the application of the multi-factor test [the Court] announced in Galvao v....

Three New Supreme Court Grants of Review

The Supreme Court announced that it will consider three new matters. Two of those involved grants of certification, while the third was an appeal as of right. The appeal as...

A Jury Trial (Or, Rather, a Non-Jury Trial) Anniversary

On November 1, 1948, the Supreme Court decided Ebling Brewing Co. v. Heirloom, Inc., 1 N.J. 71 (1948). The appeal complained of the Chancery Court's appointment of a receiver for...

The Supreme Court Takes Up Two More Cases, One Civil and One Criminal

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in two new cases. One is a civil matter, in which a two-judge Appellate Division panel issued an unpublished per curiam...

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With the Appellate Division's Recess Over, The Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week is Another Waiver of Arbitration Case

On Tuesday, April 29, judges on Part F of the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Newport Associates Development Co. v. Chubb Ins. Co. The appeal arises out of the denial by the Law Division of the motion of defendant AIG Specialty Insurance Company ("ASIC") to compel arbitration of plaintiffs' claim for indemnity in connection with underlying litigation with Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. and Public Service Electric and Gas Company. The Law Division held that ASIC had waived its contractual right to demand arbitration....

Another Quartet of New Cases for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in four new appeals. Three are from unpublished opinions of the Appellate Division, while the fourth is from a published decision in a criminal case....

A Recess for the Appellate Division, and for This Blog

The Appellate Division is in a recess this week and next. No oral arguments will occur during that period....

Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week: Has the School Funding Reform Act Denied Lakewood Public School Students the Constitutionally-Required "Thorough and Efficient" Education?

On Tuesday, April 8, judges on Part D will hear oral argument in Alcantar v. Allen-McMillan, a case filed in 2014 in which the Appellate Division has ruled before, 475 N.J. Super. 56 (App. Div. 2023). This appeal follows on the Appellate Division's prior ruling, unappealed by the State...