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

Future Advance Mortgages: The Law From the Past Remains the Law (With Perhaps One Exception) in the Present

Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc. v. Benun, 226 N.J. 41 (2016). A future advance mortgage, in broad outline, is a mortgage that secures a loan that is made in stages, rather...

A "Graduating Class" Means a Group of Students Who Complete an Educational Program and Receive Diplomas or Certificates in the Same Given Year

In re Revocation or Suspension of Provisional Accreditation of Eastwick College LPN-to-RN Bridge Program, 225 N.J. 533 (2016). As Justice Patterson reminded us in her opinion in this case today,...

Another Mount Laurel Case for the Supreme Court?

In re Declaratory Judgment Actions Filed by Various Municipalities, 446 N.J. Super. 259 (App. Div. 2016). It has been 41 years since the Supreme Court issued its original Mount Laurel...

Child Pornography and Collateral Estoppel

Doe v. Hesketh, 828 F.3d 159 (3d Cir. 2016). Today, the Third Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Greenaway, ruled in a case of a child victim of federal crimes...

Twenty One Day Advance Voter Registration Requirement is Held Constitutional

Rutgers University Student Assembly v. Middlesex Cty. Bd. of Elections, 446 N.J. Super. 221 (App. Div. 2016). This appeal involved the constitutionality of N.J.S.A. 19:31-6.3b, which requires eligible voters to...

No Need for a Law Firm LLP to Have "Tail" Insurance, Says the Supreme Court

Mortgage Grader, Inc. v. Ward & Olivo, LLP, 225 N.J. 423 (2016). Justice Fernandez-Vina issued an opinion in this legal malpractice appeal today, his first opinion in quite some time,...

Two Days, Two New Law Against Discrimination Opinions From the Supreme Court

In each of the last two days, the Supreme Court issued unanimous opinions involving the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -42 ("LAD"). Yesterday, in Smith v. Millville...

Public Employees Lose Again, as Supreme Court Upholds Suspension of Pension Cost of Living Adjustments

Berg v. Christie, 225 N.J. 245 (2016). Today's decision in this closely-watched case shows once again the importance of the standard of review applied. In a 6-1 decision by Justice...

Hospitals Lose Their Appeal of Horizon's OMNIA Health Alliance

Capital Health System, Inc. v. New Jersey Dep't of Banking & Insurance, 445 N.J. Super. 522 (App. Div. 2016). In September 2015, the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance...

Temporary Help Service Firms vs. Employment Agencies, and Registration vs. Licensure

AIT Global Inc. v. Yadav, 445 N.J. Super. 513 (App. Div. 2016). Plaintiff in this case was a temporary help service firm ("THSF") that provided short-term information technology consultants for...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 363738 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56…Last

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....