Never Attach Documents to a Brief!

Muracco v. Township of Washington, 2010 WL 5376867 (App. Div. Nov. 16, 2010).  Courts have repeatedly made clear that documents cannot be attached to a brief, but must be appended to a certification or affidavit made on personal knowledge, in ...

Cite the Record!

Motley v. Division of State Police, 2010 WL 4621498 (App. Div. Nov. 15, 2010).  In this appeal of the pre-trial dismissal of a CEPA case, the Appellate Division found itself “constrained to criticize plaintiff’s brief for failing to direct us ...

Abuse of Discretion Standard

Lucante v. Lucante, 2010 WL 4570211 (App. Div. Nov. 15, 2010).  This opinion contains a lengthy discussion of the concept of abuse of discretion.  There are a number of useful citations regarding that concept. The court also found it necessary ...

New Jersey Again Follows California Tort Decisions

Dean v. Barrett Homes, Inc., 204 N.J. 286 (2010).  In a 5-2 decision, the Supreme Court concluded that an exterior finish on a home was not integrated into the home so as to bar all tort claims under the Product ...

Shortcut Blocked

Washington Commons, LLC v. City of Jersey City, 416 N.J. Super. 555 (App. Div. 2010).  Where two prior lawsuits between the parties were already finally concluded, and no case was currently pending, a city could not enforce a condition on ...

Fee Applications Can Sometimes be Made Later

Sisolak v. Briarwood Sportsman’s Club, 2010 WL 4483387 (App. Div. Nov. 10, 2010).  This opinion states that while it is “generally preferable to have counsel fee applications filed contemporaneously with, or shortly after, the entry of a final order disposing ...

Dehydrated Peaches

In re R.B., 2010 WL 4340645 (App. Div. Nov. 4, 2010).  This opinion quotes a nice turn of phrase regarding the limitations on an appellate court’s review of credibility issues: “the best and most accurate record (of oral testimony) is ...

If You Don’t List It in Your Notice of Appeal, It’s Not on Appeal

Onuigbo v. American Export Lines, 2011 WL 13762 (App. Div. Nov. 1, 2010).  A lawyer would not, or should not, have had happen what occurred here, since appellate lawyers know that only issues listed in the notice of appeal are ...

A Plug for the Appellate Pro Bono Civil Pilot Program

Baptiste v. Baptiste, 2010 WL 5395803 (App. Div. Oct. 29, 2010).  In this otherwise run-of-the-mill appeal, the Appellate Division thanked a private lawyer for appearing with plaintiff at oral argument and supplying transcripts under the court’s Pro Bono Civil Pilot ...

Diluting the Right to Oral Argument on Trial Level Motions

Abulkhair v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 2010 WL 4226222 (App. Div. Oct. 27, 2010).  Here, a party’s notice of motion in the Law Division requested oral argument only if there was opposition to the motion, a fairly standard form of ...