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

Insubstantial Constitutional Issues Don't Afford an Appeal to the Supreme Court as of Right

On this date in 1965, the Supreme Court decided Tidewater Oil Co. v. Mayor & Council of Borough of Carteret, 44 N.J. 338 (1965), a municipal land use case. That...

Judge Nugent Reminds Us That Rule 4:23-5's Requirements Must be "Scrupulously Followed and Technically Complied With"

Salazar v. MKGC + Design, 458 N.J. Super. 551 (App. Div. 2019). In Thabo v. Z Transp., 452 N.J. Super. 359 (App. Div. 2017), discussed here, the Appellate Division made...

Waiver, Forfeiture, the Plain Error Doctrine, and the "Third Circuit Model Jury Instructions"

Robinson v. First State Community Action Agency, 920 F.3d 182 (3d Cir. 2019). This opinion by Judge Fuentes today affirms a plaintiff's verdict in a jury trial under the Americans...

If You Appeal But Don't Follow Through, Don't Come Back Later With Your Issues From the Abandoned Appeal

Park Crest Cleaners, LLC v. A Plus Cleaners & Alterations Corp., 458 N.J. Super. 465 (App. Div. 2019). This opinion by Judge Fisher today dismissed an appeal under convoluted facts....

Supreme Court Oral Argument Tips From Chief Justice Rabner

Chief justice Rabner was the guest speaker at last night's NJSBA Appellate Practice Committee meeting. He was aware that Judge Vernoia spoke at a previous meeting about appellate briefing, as...

Converting a Non-Precedential Appellate Opinion Into a Precedential One

In both the Appellate Division and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, most opinions issued are not precedential. Sometimes, however, parties wish to have a not precedential opinion changed to...

Appellate Practice Insights From Judge Vernoia

The guest speaker at last night's meeting of the NJSBA Appellate Practice Committee was Judge Vernoia. He offered some of his thoughts and insights about appellate practice and answered questions...

Reconsideration Motion Was Not Timely "Served," and Court Thus Had No Subject Matter Jurisdiction Over It

Murray v. Comcast Corp., 457 N.J. Super. 464 (App. Div. 2019). In this employment case, the issue was whether the Law Division had subject matter jurisdiction to entertain a motion...

Judge Koblitz Instructs About How to Conduct Non-Dissolution, "FD," Child Custody Proceedings

J.G. v. J.H., 457 N.J. Super. 365 (App. Div. 2019). Though many cases involving child custody arise out of divorce proceedings, other such cases occur in other settings. In the...

Flanzman v. Jenny Craig, Inc. Reissued by the Appellate Division

Flanzman v. Jenny Craig, Inc., 456 N.J. Super. 613 (App. Div. 2018). The Appellate Division previously issued its opinion in this case, written by Judge Fasciale, on October 17, 2018,...

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No Ethics Violation in Attorney Purchasing Another Attorney's Name as a Keyword for Internet Searches, the Supreme Court Says, With a Caveat

In re Opinion No. 735 of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). [Disclosure: I represented an amicus curiae in this appeal]. As Justice Noriega said in his opinion for a 5-1 majority (Justice Pierre-Louis did not participate), this appeal "presents the narrow question of whether it is permissible under the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) for an attorney or law firm to purchase a competing attorney's or law firm's name as a keyword." The Court found it permissible, with a caveat. Justice Fasciale dissented....

Four Criminal Law Cases, and a Qui Tam Appeal, for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in five new appeals. One of them is before the Court on leave to appeal, while in the others the Court granted certification....

The "Limited Attorney Exemption" of the Debt Adjustment and Credit Counseling Act is Held Unconstitutional as Violative of the Separation of Powers and Void for Vagueness

Anchor Law Firm, PLLC v. State of New Jersey, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The Debt Adjustment and Credit Counseling Act, N.J.S.A. 17:16G-1 et seq. ("DACCA"), prohibits debt adjusters in New Jersey from operating for a profit. There is an exception for attorneys not "principally engaged" (a term not defined in the statute) in debt adjustment. That exception, adopted in a 1986 amendment, replaced a prior version of the DACCA that had exempted all attorneys from its scope....

Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week: Where a Party Files a Suit Alleged to Violate the UPEPA But Quickly Dismisses It, Can Defendants Then Get Counsel Fees Under the Statute?

On May 15, judges on Part C of the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Satz v. Keshet Starr. Plaintiff, acting pro se, filed a defamation suit against defendants. Defendants filed an o order to show cause to dismiss the case and for attorneys' fees under the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-49 et seq. ("UPEPA"). The UPEPA, enacted in 2023, sought to make it more difficult to use the legal system as a weapon to bully individuals into silence by filing what have been known as SLAPP ("strategic lawsuits against public participation") suits....