John P. Casey concentrates his practice on land use and environmental matters, with particular emphasis on coastal management, development, permitting, and littoral and riparian water rights. He is a member of Robinson+Cole’s Land Use and Real Estate + Development groups, and the partner in charge of our firm’s New London office.
Land Use – Zoning
John handles planning, zoning, and wetland permits and applications. He helps his clients secure the necessary local, state, and federal approvals for their projects, whether it is an industrial complex, pier, seawall, mooring field, new medical facility, private dock, shoreline bridge, or waterfront home. John regularly appears before local zoning, wetlands, and harbor management commissions, as well as the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He has represented a variety of clients, such as manufacturers, government and quasi-government agencies, hospitals, homeowners, condominium associations, retailers, waterfront property owners, and marinas, helping them make their projects a reality.
John has successfully represented applicants in contested administrative hearings before DEEP hearing officers for coastal development projects, including major defense manufacturing facilities and regional port facilities. He has also obtained all the necessary approvals for a regional community hospital in Connecticut to build a new 40,000-square-foot cancer treatment facility, secured a permit from DEEP for an onsite community sewerage system for a client who needed it to develop a residential adult community, successfully represented a client in a controversial proposal to rebuild a pedestrian bridge between two islands off the Connecticut shore, and helped property owners save their coastal homes after they were damaged in major storms.
Litigation
John handles litigation related to land use and property rights, including appeals of zoning and permit decisions and DEEP final administrative actions. He has achieved positive results for clients who have had to pursue litigation over land use matters. He secured money damages and injunctive relief for a client who owns lakefront property, after a neighbor illegally maintained a mooring in his client’s littoral rights area. On behalf of a large grocer, John successfully defended an environmental intervenor’s appeals of land use boards’ approvals, allowing the construction of a new grocery store. John has also successfully defended permits issued by the DEEP in court appeals brought by project opponents.
Previously, John was a member of Robinson+Cole's Trial and Appellate section. He has extensive experience in all types of civil litigation, including products liability, personal injury, and insurance coverage and subrogation matters.
Admiralty
As an extension of his coastal management practice, John also advises clients on admiralty and maritime matters, such as damage claims concerning vessels and land-based structures. He is one of the primary attorneys in our firm representing the Connecticut Port Authority, a quasi-public agency that is responsible for marketing and coordinating the development of the state’s ports and maritime economy.
Pro Bono
John has an active and diverse pro bono practice. He has represented disabled veterans in eviction actions as well as represented a non-profit entity in its efforts to allow the public to visit one of the oldest lighthouses in the nation. He is a former member of Connecticut Legal Services Inc.’s Board of Directors, where he worked on a collaborative pro bono project that provided legal assistance to low-income elderly adults faced with abusive debt collection practices and other consumer law issues.
Before joining our firm, John was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, Judge Advocate General's Corps, fulfilling various legal duties while stationed at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. After completing his military service, he worked for a litigation firm in New London, Connecticut.
