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

A "Reciprocal Discovery" Case for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted leave to appeal in State v. Knight. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Where a witness...

A "Hostile/Warlike" Exclusion in an Insurance Policy Does Not Bar Coverage for a Cyberattack

Merck & Co., Inc. v. Ace American Ins. Co., 475 N.J. Super. 420 (App. Div. 2023). Plaintiff ("Merck") suffered a cyberattack from malware known as NotPetya. An expert for Merck's...

Discovery of Metadata

Estate of Lasiw v. Pereira, 475 N.J. Super. 378 (App. Div. 2023). Judge Messano's opinion in this medical malpractice case today is a relatively rare example of a published appellate...

"Ministerial Exception" That Bars Employment Discrimination Claims by Ministers Employed by Religious Institutions Also Covers Other Claims Related to the Institution's Employment Decision

Hyman v. Rosenbaum Yeshiva of New Jersey, 474 N.J. Super. 561 (App. Div. 2023). As Judge Mitterhoff explained in her opinion for the Appellate Division today, the Free Exercise and...

A Suppression of Evidence Case With "Three Issues of First Impression": Next Stop, Supreme Court?

State v. Scott, 474 N.J. Super. 388 (App. Div. 2023). This was a typically thorough and scholarly opinion by Judge Susswein. It is well worth reading in full. But because...

Smith & Wesson Fails to Block a Subpoena Issued by the Attorney General Under the Consumer Fraud Act

Platkin v. Smith & Wesson Sales Co., Inc., 474 N.J. Super. 476 (App. Div. 2023). In 2020, the Attorney General's office issued to Smith & Wesson an administrative action subpoena...

Two Opinions Today That Emphasize the Need for "Balancing the Interests"

The "balancing of interests" often finds its way into judicial opinions. That is especially so in difficult cases. Two opinions issued today, one by the Supreme Court and one by...

The Supreme Court in the Second Half of November

After a first half of November with no Supreme Court opinions, the Court issued five opinions in the second half. Two of those decisions were discussed here and here. This...

An Arbitration Award That Was Procured by Fraud is Undone by the Third Circuit

France v. Bernstein, 43 F.4th 367 (3d Cir. 2022). As Judge Jordan said in his opinion for the Third Circuit today, "[i]t's a steep climb to vacate an arbitration award."...

The First Week of August

The dog days of summer often see the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division issuing opinions in cases argued earlier in the Term. The Third Circuit is often more active...

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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....

The 2025-26 General Assignment Order

Chief Justice Rabner announced the 2025-26 General Assignment Order. It is available here....

New Jersey's Charity Care Program for Hospitals is Not a Per Se Unconstitutional Taking of Property

Englewood Hospital & Medical Center v. State, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). New Jersey has had a charity care program, in one form or another, for 178 years. As Justice Fasciale summarized the current charity care program in his opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court, under the current program "hospitals cannot turn away a patient for inability to pay, N.J.S.A. 26:2H-18.64, and patients who qualify for charity care shall not be billed for services rendered, N.J.A.C. 10:52-11.4. Instead, ‘disproportionate share hospitals' (DSHs), or hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of low-income patients, see N.J.S.A. 26:2H-18.52, receive annual subsidies from the Health Care Subsidy Fund (HCSF) in exchange for providing charity care, see N.J.S.A. 26:2H-18.52, .58, .58d."...

A Municipal Court Administrator is Employed by the Township, Not the Administrative Office of the Courts

Palmisano v. State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The opening paragraph of Judge Marczyk's opinion for the Appellate Division well encapsulates what the appeal was about and what the result was. "Plaintiff Lindsay Palmisano appeals from the trial court's April 1, 2024 order dismissing her complaint with prejudice against defendant State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts and Municipal Division (AOC) pursuant to Rule 4:6-2(e). The primary issue on appeal is whether plaintiff, a municipal court administrator, is an employee of the AOC, thereby allowing her to assert a claim against the AOC under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49. Based on our review of the record and the applicable legal principles, we conclude plaintiff was employed by Vernon Township (Township), not the AOC, and, therefore, we affirm."...