New Jersey Div. of Youth & Family Services v. J.D., 417 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2010). In this child custody matter, the trial court reopened its decision in the case, which had been closed, based on a later-decided Appellate Division case. The Appellate Division found no authority “mandating a trial court review its prior judgments sua sponte in the event of its view of a change in prior law.” New legal principles, even when made retroactive, do not apply to closed cases. On the contrary, the court said, public policy favors repose, especially where, as here, the case was over and no one filed an appeal.
The decision also contains a useful discussion of the “law of the case” doctrine, and notes that the doctrine does not bar a judge from changing a prior decision due to a newly-developed basis in “fact, law or context.” In particular, the court observed, deference to a prior trial level decision in the case is unwarranted where a higher court “subsequently settles a question of law.”