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

Health Care Providers and ERISA Standing Based on Patient Assignments of Payment

North Jersey Brain & Spine Center v. Aetna, Inc., 801 F.3d 369 (3d Cir. 2015). Judge Chagares's concise opinion in this case today crystallized the issue near the outset. "The...

Not a Lease, Not a License, but a Profit a Prendre

Van Horn v. Harmony Sand & Gravel, 442 N.J. Super. 333 (App. Div. 2015). When is a document titled "Lease Agreement" not a lease? When it is in fact, regardless...

PERC Has Jurisdiction to Protect Employees' Right to "Assist" Their Unions

In re Probation Ass'n of New Jersey, 442 N.J. Super. 185 (App. Div. 2015). N.J.S.A. 34:13A-5.4(b)(1) prohibits interference with a right guaranteed by the Employer-Employee Relations Act, and the Act...

A Unanimous Three-Judge Panel Opinion, With a Unanimous Concurrence by the Same Three Judges. Huh??

Lincoln Benefit Life Co. v. AEI Life, LLC, 800 F.3d 99 (3d Cir. 2015). For a single judge on a three-judge Third Circuit panel to issue a concurring opinion is...

Tailoring Required: The Appellate Division Reins in Overbroad OPRA Requests

This is a guest post by Jeffrey A. Shooman, my colleague at Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC. Shipyard Associates, L.P. v. City of Hoboken, 2015 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2117 (App....

Pennsylvania Rule Waiving Bar Exam Requirement for Admission Only for Attorneys Licensed in Jurisdictions That Offer Reciprocity to Pennsylvania Attorneys is Constitutional

National Ass'n for the Advancement of Multijurisdiction Practice (NAAMP) v. Castille, 799 F.3d 216 (3d Cir. 2015). For many years, New Jersey has not offered "reciprocity" to allow attorneys licensed...

Homeowners Association Can be Liable for Injuries on Sidewalks Owned and Controlled by Such Associations

Qian v. Toll Brothers, Inc., 223 N.J. 124 (2015). In Luchejko v. City of Hoboken, 207 N.J. 191 (2011), discussed here, the Supreme Court ruled that a condominium association was...

What is an "Agenda"? Perhaps the Supreme Court Should Tell Us

Opderbeck v. Midland Park Bd. of Educ., 442 N.J. Super. 40 (App. Div. 2015). The Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 to -21 ("OPMA"), adopted in 1975, requires advance notice...

Physician Who Was Retired at the Time of "the Occurrence That is the Basis for the Action" is Not "Statutorily Authorized to Testify" as an Expert in a Medical Malpractice Case

Medina v. Pitta, 442 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2015). The New Jersey Medical Care Access and Responsibility and Patients First Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:53A-37 to -42 ("PFA"), "established enhanced qualification...

Redd v. Bowman: The Supreme Court Says That the Faulkner Act Initiative Proponents Must Start All Over Again

Redd v. Bowman, 223 N.J. 87 (2015). In Redd v. Bowman, 433 N.J. Super. 178 (App. Div. 2013), discussed here, the Appellate Division held that an initiative petition with a...

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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....