Real Estate Litigation

In the area of real estate litigation, John represents institutional, municipal, and individual clients in disputes involving, among other things, title, zoning (including enforcement actions), wetlands, land use, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), eminent domain, foreclosure, and other real property rights cases. He also represents clients in all disputes involving commercial leases, purchase and sale (PSA) agreements, and other real estate transactional disputes.

In the area of RLUIPA litigation, he counsels municipalities regarding RLUIPA as it relates to local legislation and the application process. He also has extensive experience litigating RLUIPA cases. In the past year, John has obtained favorable resolutions for municipalities in New York and New Jersey involving large scale (eight figure) RLUIPA claims. He is a regular contributor to our firm's RLUIPA Defense blog and is a frequent RLUIPA webinar panelist.

Property Tax Litigation

In the area of property tax litigation, John represents corporate and individual clients in real and personal property tax valuation and classification proceedings at the regulatory, administrative, and trial levels. In this regard, he has dealt with specialized issues involving, among other things, class action tax appeals, the valuation of high-tech software and wireless communications equipment, contingency fee tax audits, special use properties (including military facilities), the impact of environmental conditions on the value of real property, commercial office buildings, Section 8 CHFA, and other affordable housing properties.

John has been litigating tax appeals since 1992, and has a consistent record of obtaining favorable resolutions for clients involving valuation disputes between taxpayer and municipality.

Environmental Litigation

Consistent with his experience in litigating real property matters, John represents clients in environmental litigation matters, most notably Superfund cases and related proceedings involving state and federal regulatory agencies. He has litigated environmental matters involving hundreds of millions of dollars, including serving as lead counsel in a $300 million plus Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) action related to a Rhode Island Superfund site.

Business Litigation

The other side of John's practice is commercial business litigation. He handles a wide range of business litigation matters, including, but not limited to, securities fraud (individual, class action, and derivative actions), broker-dealer regulation, software, franchise, licensing, partnerships, limited partnerships, closely held corporations, employment and noncompetition agreements, creditors' rights, insurance, probate, and business torts.

Tort Litigation

John has extensive tort litigation experience, having litigated more than 50 cases in New York and Connecticut on behalf of corporations and manufacturers. In addition to Connecticut, his New York experience is considerable, having picked juries and litigated cases in all five boroughs of New York City.

Pro Bono

John is committed to pro bono work. Among other engagements, he has assisted Habitat for Humanity with housing matters. He is currently assisting an animal shelter organization as well as a non-profit legal justice organization.

Prior to joining Robinson+Cole, John was a member of the litigation department at White & Case LLP in New York City, where he concentrated his practice in complex commercial, property, and securities litigation, and business torts.