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

The Direct Action Statute and Arbitration

Crystal Point Condominium Ass'n v. Kinsale Ins. Co., 466 N.J. Super. 471 (App. Div. 2021). Plaintiff filed a construction defect litigation regarding balconies and slabs at plaintiff's 42-story condominium building....

Unemployment is Not "Substituted Employment," and Unemployment Benefits Are Not "Pay or Salary"

Ciripompa v. Bd. of Educ. of Borough of Bound Brook, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Judge Gummer well summarized her opinion for the Appellate Division today in its...

Last Week

Late last week, the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division each issued two published opinions. Neither court has issued any published opinions this week (nor is either court slated to...

The Supreme Court Takes Two New Criminal Appeals and Agrees to Answer a Certified Question From the Third Circuit

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in three new cases. Two are criminal appeals and the third involves two questions certified by the Third Circuit. The Supreme...

A Cook Injured While Working at Her Employer's "Family Fun Day" Qualifies for Workers' Compensation

Goulding v. NJ Friendship House, Inc., ___ N.J. ___ (2021). This opinion by Justice Fernandez-Vina today, for a unanimous Supreme Court, dealt with a claim under the Workers Compensation Act....

Paid "Release Time" for Certain Jersey City Teachers to Handle Union Business Such as Resolving Labor Disputes is Allowed by Statute and is Constitutional

Rozenblit v. Lyles, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). This case involved the question of whether a bargained-for "release time" provision in a collective bargaining agreement between the Jersey City School District...

Getting Current With the Appellate Division

The past few days have been especially busy ones in my practice. The Appellate Division has likewise been quite busy issuing published opinions as January turned to February. Here are...

No Affidavit of Merit Needed for Vicarious Liability Claim Based Solely on Actions of Person Not Listed Among "Licensed Persons" by the Affidavit of Merit Statute

Haviland v. Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County, Inc., 466 N.J. Super. 126 (App. Div. 2021). In her opinion for the Appellate Division in this case today, Judge Rose summed...

The Supreme Court Will Review G.C. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted certification in G.C. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's...

An OPRA Case for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in Libertarians for Transparent Government v. Cumberland County. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Is...

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An Arbitration Case and a Cannabis Land Use Appeal for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in two new appeals. One of those is from a published Appellate Division decision, while the other appeal is from an unpublished opinion of a two-judge Appellate Division panel....

Murder Trial Judge Inadequately Addressed Juror Misconduct, Requiring Remand to Determine Whether Jury Was Tainted

State v. Byrd, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Justice Noriega authored the Court's unanimous opinion in this case today. During the murder trial that led to this appeal, allegations of misconduct by a certain juror, No. 8, surfaced. That juror allegedly conducted outside research, discussed the case with third parties, texted one of the defendants, and expressed an intent to find defendants guilty. The trial judge questioned Juror No. 8, but on appeal from defendants' convictions, the Supreme Court concluded that the trial court's inquiry "was insufficiently tailored to the allegations against the juror, failed to probe into the heart of the allegations, and was therefore inadequate." The Court remanded the case for further proceedings....

Attorney General's Supersession of the Paterson Police Department Was Not Arbitrary, Capricious, or Unreasonable

Bulur v. Office of the Attorney General, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). In 2023, after a fatal shooting by Paterson police officers, the New Jersey Attorney General announced on March 27, 2023 that his office was superseding (that is, taking over responsibility for) the Paterson Police Department. Lawsuits were filed and transferred to the Appellate Division. In an opinion reported at 480 N.J. Super. 395 (App. Div. 2024), and summarized here, the Appellate Division voided the supersession. Today, the Supreme Court reversed in a unanimous opinion by Justice Patterson....

Sentencing Counsel's Limited Investigation of Defendant's Citizenship Was Not Constitutionally Ineffective in the Circumstances

State v. Hernandez-Peralta, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Justice Wainer Apter's decision today for a 5-2 Supreme Court majority began by phrasing the issue presented. "In this appeal, we consider whether sentencing counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to investigate defendant's citizenship status beyond asking him if he was a United States citizen and receiving an unequivocal ‘yes,' and therefore not advising him that his plea could make him subject to deportation." The majority found, based on the particular facts, that counsel was not constitutionally ineffective, reversing the two lower courts. Justice Noriega, joined by Justice Fasciale, dissented....