Our Supreme Court denies far more petitions for certification than it grants. Many people think that a denial of certification means that the Court has ruled in favor of the opponent of certification. In fact, that is not so. In West Point Island Civic Ass’n v. Dover Tp. Comm., 54 N.J. 339 (1969), the Court addressed this very issue. That case had gone through the appellate process once before. The Law Division had granted summary judgment to the defendant Township, but the Appellate Division reversed. The Township petitioned for certification, but the Court denied that petition. On...

August is often a busy month for the Supreme Court, as the Justices count down to the new Term by deciding most if not all of the remaining cases from the current Term. This year is no exception. So far, the Court has issued an opinion every weekday (except Fridays, when customarily no opinions of the Court are released) in the first two weeks of August. Here is a rundown of the Court’s August rulings to date: Pritchett v. State, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). This unanimous opinion by Justice LaVecchia yesterday affirmed, as modified, an Appellate Division decision that largely upheld a...

Lawson v. Dewar, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). This opinion by Judge Fisher was made on summary disposition, a rare occurrence in our appellate courts. In the first paragraph of the opinion, Judge Fisher emphasized that the opinion was written, and published, “chiefly to point out commonly misunderstood distinctions between motions seeking reconsideration of final orders and motions seeking reconsideration of interlocutory orders” (emphases by Judge Fisher). The facts of the case, though important to the parties, are not significant to the legal principles expressed, and...