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

A Very Appropriate Case for Election Day, November 8

Since today, November 8, is Election Day, what better case could there be to highlight than In re Contest of November 8, 2005, 192 N.J. 546 (2007)? Not only did that...

"Legal Gymnastics" and "Undisclosed Legerdemain" Do Not Help the Defendant in a Consumer Fraud Case

Dugan v. TGI Friday's, 2011 WL 5041391 (App. Div. Oct. 25, 2011). Plaintiff bought a beer at the bar of a TGI Friday's restaurant and was charged $2.00. She then moved...

A "Tense" Decision

Santos-Reyes v. United States, 660 F.3d 196 (3d Cir. 2011). Under 8 U.S.C. §1229b(a), an alien who could otherwise be deported from the United States can have the deportation cancelled if the...

A Questionable Consumer Fraud Act Decision

Princeton Healthcare System v. Netsmart New York, Inc., 422 N.J. Super. 467 (App. Div. 2011). This opinion, written by Judge Skillman, involves "a negotiated contract between corporations for the installation and implementation...

Supreme Court Will Review "Kyleigh's Law" Case

The Supreme Court has granted review in Trautman v. Christie, 418 N.J. Super. 559 (App. Div. 2011). The decision of the Appellate Division was discussed here. The questions presented are...

New Jersey False Claims Act Does Not Apply Retroactively, Just As the Statute Says

State v. Correctional Medical Services, Inc., 422 N.J. Super. 363 (App. Div. 2011). The New Jersey False Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:32C-1 to -15 and -17 to -18, was enacted on January 13,...

A Potential Tort Claims "Weather Immunity" Case for the Supreme Court?

Tymczyszyn v. Columbus Gardens, 422 N.J. Super. 253 (App. Div. 2011). Plaintiff slipped on ice and fell on a sidewalk that abuts a "multi-unit residential property" operated by defendant Hoboken Housing Authority. Plaintiff...

Affidavit of Merit Statute Does Not Apply to Unlicensed Persons, and Some Other Lessons

Albrecht v. Correctional Medical Services, 422 N.J. Super. 265 (App. Div. 2011). The Affidavit of Merit statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-26 to -29, makes the submission of an affidavit that a suit has merit...

Deprivation of Deferred Retirement Benefits Due to Conviction of Crime May Occur Only When Offense Relates to Official Duties

In re Hess, 422 N.J. Super. 27 (App. Div. 2011). Suzanne Hess was employed as a Geographic Information Specialist by the New Jersey Office of Information Technology. She filed an application for a...

League of Municipalities is Subject to Open Public Records Act

Fair Share Housing Center, Inc. v. New Jersey State League of Municipalities, 207 N.J. 489 (2011). The New Jersey State League of Municipalities ("the League") is an entity created under N.J.S.A. 40:48-22...

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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....