Consider this not-too-uncommon scenario. The trial court granted your motion for summary judgment and dismissed the complaint. The case is over, and your client is thrilled. Your adversary files an appeal. You urge the appellate panel to affirm on any or all of the independent grounds the trial court held were sufficient to grant summary judgment. The appellate division affirms the judgment but reaches only a single issue to do so. And so, while you would have liked the panel to affirm on several bases, you’re nonetheless elated that your client’s victory on summary judgment is secure. Then, 20 days later, much to your chagrin, you get your adversary’s petition for certification to the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Your adversary’s petition presents a single issue that the appellate panel reached to affirm summary judgment. You will, of course, oppose certification on that issue. However, you then ask yourself the following question: Must I also file a cross-petition for certification to preserve the right to raise each of the other bases that the appellate panel did not reach to preserve my summary judgment win? Lucky for you, nearly 70 years ago, Chief Justice Arthur T. Vanderbilt answered that arcane procedural question in the negative. And that answer has carried over into our current court rules.

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