I've Joined Devitt Spellman Barrett, LLP

I am pleased to announce that, as of June 3, 2019, I have joined Devitt Spellman Barrett, LLP as counsel to the firm.  

Devitt Spellman Barrett, LLP.  50 Route 111, Suite 314,
Smithtown, NY 11787.  631-724-8833.  Photo Credit: Google.

My primary area of concentration will be municipal defense and representation.  Among other things, I will be representing local governments on Long Island, including Suffolk County and many of its Towns and Villages, with respect to constitutional claims, land use matters, and tort claims.  I will also continue to represent small Long Island businesses in transactions and other commercial matters.  

I am honored to be joining such an outstanding and well respected team of attorneys.  Everyone I have interacted with from the firm thus far, from the partners to each staff member, have all been exceptionally impressive in their own way and, perhaps more importantly, extraordinarily pleasant  to work with.  Devitt Spellman Barrett, LLP, has been providing municipal and insurance defense services to clients throughout Long Island and New York State for over forty years.  I will be based in the firm's main office in Smithtown (near my home in Stonybrook), and the firm also has offices in Garden City and Albany.  

Mhany Mgmt, Inc. v. County of Nassau - Settled

Top  from left to right, Scott J. Kreppein, Nassau County Attorney Jared A. Kasschau, Deputy County Executive For Economic Development Evlyn Tsimis, Members of New York Communities for Change; Bottom from left to right: Nassau County Director of Housing and Community Development Kevin J. Crean, County Executive Laura Curran, and Frederick Brewington.  Photo Credit: New York Law Journal / Law.com.

One of the largest cases I've worked on during my career settled on March 15, 2019.  In the 2005 lawsuit, a group of non-profits challenged land use and zoning policies in the Village of Garden City and throughout the County of Nassau as violating, among other things, the Fair Housing Act.  The matter was dismissed as against Nassau County, but went to trial against Garden City.  After a finding of liability at trial as against the Village, the matter went before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, both as to the finding against the Village, and as to the earlier dismissal against the County.  

On appeal, the trial verdict against the Village of Garden City, and affirmed the finding that, although having some "authority to override local zoning control" under specific circumstances, the federal Court of Appeals could not find that it had an affirmative"responsibly" to exercise that authority "[a]bsent further guidance from the New York Court of Appeals."  Mhany Mgmt. v. County of Nassau, 819 F.3d 581 (2016).  

However, the Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal against the County, and remanded for further consideration with respect to the "claims against Nassau County" that were stated "more generally" regarding its policies and practices with respect to affordable housing, particularly with repsect to HUD-funded programs, and whether the allegations and evidence supported claims "under 42 U.S.C. § 3604(a) (Section 804(a) of the FHA) and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d." Id. 

Following remand, my prior firm was assigned the matter as outside counsel, and I was assigned day-to-day responsibilities on the case.  After years of of discussions and discovery, including extensive evaluation of County's land use and housing policies over the last fifty years, the County and the Plaintiffs were able to reach an amicable resolution.  

The details of the settlement are discussed in the “County's Press Release," and the matter was covered by Newsday and the Long Island Business News, and referred to as a "Landmark Settlement" by the New York Law Journal and Law.com.  I am the guy on the top left of the photo above,  from the NYLJ's front page.