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

Underage Adult Host Can be Liable for Acts of Underage Guests Who Consume Alcohol at the Host's Home

Estate of Narleski v. Gomes, 244 N.J. 199 (2020). Near the beginning of his opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court in this case, Justice Albin summarized the issue: "Under our...

The "Queen of All Threshold Issues" in Arbitration Law

MZM Construction Co., Inc. v. New Jersey Building Laborers Statewide Benefit Funds, 974 F.3d 386 (3d Cir. 2020). Decisions about arbitration just keep on coming, from both New Jersey and...

Breaking News: Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds the Constitutionality of the COVID-19 Emergency Bond Act

New Jersey Republican State Committee v. Murphy, 243 N.J. 574 (2020). As discussed here, the Supreme Court directly certified a challenge to the recently adopted COVID-19 Emergency Bond Act. After...

The "Foregone Conclusion" Doctrine Requires a Criminal Defendant to Reveal the Passcode to His Passcode-Protected Cellphone

State v. Andrews, 243 N.J. 447 (2020). In a 4-3 decision that produced lengthy majority and dissenting opinions, the Supreme Court held that it does not violate a criminal defendant's...

Theodore Botter (1924-2020)

Theodore Botter, an Appellate Division judge who was best known for a landmark decision that he issued as a trial judge, died on June 22, according to an obituary published...

Rooming House Operators Have No Statutory or Common Law Duty to Conduct Background Checks on Prospective Occupants in Order to Protect Other Occupants

Estate of Campagna v. Pleasant Point Properties, LLC, 464 N.J. Super. 153 (App. Div. 2020). This opinion is a magnum opus by Judge Sabatino. But he well summarized the ruling...

Making Up Ground

Due to a personal matter, there have been no posts on this blog since June 2. This post will summarize some of the decisions from our appellate courts since that...

Judge Russo is Removed From Office Due to "Flagrant and Serious Acts of Misconduct"

Matter of Russo., 242 N.J. 179 (2020). As Chief Justice Rabner recounted in his opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court yesterday, Judge John F. Russo, Jr., has been an attorney...

From Judge Vernoia, a Discussion of "Opening the Door," The Rule of Completeness, and Lay Opinion Testimony

Grewal v. Greda, 463 N.J. Super. 489 (App. Div. 2020). This far too belated post is about a very informative opinion by Judge Vernoia last week. The case was one...

A Due Process Travesty in a Workers Compensation Case

McGory v. SLS Landscaping, 463 N.J. Super. 463 (App. Div. 2020). Judge Vernoia pulled no punches in this opinion for the Appellate Division today. Writing for a unanimous panel, Judge...

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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."...