Legal Memorandum: Leave to Appeal from an Interlocutory Order

Issue: Can the appellate court grant leave to file an interlocutory appeal to promote the interest of justice in an administrative matter?

The Appellate Division may grant leave to appeal from an interlocutory order “in the interest of justice.”  N.J. Ct. R. 2:2-4.  Leave is granted when, on a balance of interests, justice suggests the need for review of the interlocutory order.  See Burt v. W. Jersey Health Sys., 339 N.J. Super. 296, 310-11 (App. Div. 2001) (court’s discretion should be exercised only for good cause shown and in service of the ultimate goal of substantial justice). 

The Appellate Division described the applicable standard:

We grant leave under the rule only “in the exceptional cases where, on a balance of interests, justice suggests the need for a review” of an interlocutory order. . . . [W]e may grant leave to appeal where some grave damage or injustice may be caused by the order below, such as may occur when the trial court grants, continues, modifies, refuses or dissolves an injunction, appoints a receiver or refuses an order to wind up a pending receivership or to take the appropriate steps to accomplish the purposes thereof, such as directing a sale or other disposal of property held thereunder. We may also be induced to grant leave where the appeal, if sustained, will terminate the litigation and thus very substantially conserve the time and expense of the litigants and the courts, as in the case where the order attacked determines that the court or agency below has jurisdiction of the subject matter or person. There is a variety […]

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