Maraziti, Falcon, & Healey, LLP - Attorneys At Law

Firm Overview

The Redevelopment and Environmental law firm of Maraziti, Falcon, & Healey, LLP

councils clients in both the public and private sectors in areas of redevelopment procedures and transactions, condemnation, brownfields, land use, regulatory compliance and litigation, governmental procedures and solid waste and wastewater matters.

Areas of Practice

Redevelopment Law

The firm advises public entities in the redevelopment of urban areas using the tools of the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law. Counsels municipalities and redevelopment agencies on redevelopment area designation process, redevelopment plans, redevelopment agreements and state and federal financial incentives for redevelopment. The firm presently represents the Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency which is implementing $1 billion in new redevelopment consisting of four projects in three redevelopment areas.

Condenmantion

This firm had represented a broad array of governmental agencies in the acquisition of land, or interests therein, by means of eminent domain proceedings. These have involved condemnations in connection with the construction of roads, water systems, sewerage systems, buildings and other public facilities. More recently the firm has been heavily involved in the acquisition of lands located within redevelopment areas involving unique issues of valuation and the facilitation of the redevelopment process. The firm's representation has involved the complete acquisition process including implementation of negotiations meeting the requirements of the Eminent Domain Law, the filing of pleadings to institute condemnation including taking possession of the property in question by Declaration of Taking, the Commissioners' hearing and the jury trial. Additionally, members of the firm have been appointed by the Court from time to time to serve as Condemnation Commissioners to conduct proceedings to hear and decide cases on the determination of the fair market value of property condemned by government agencies.

Environmental Compliance

Maraziti, Falcon & Healey counsels both private and public clients, in connection with state and federal environmental compliance and litigation and transactional matters. Our strength is the twenty-five years of experience that our attorneys have in the practice of environmental law. The firm remains in the forefront of law and science by handling such cases as solid and hazardous waste remediation, contribution and cost recovery litigation, resource recovery and recycling procurement and development, insurance coverage claims, industrial pretreatment permitting.

"As the leading Redevelopment Law firm, Maraziti, Falcon & Healey provides guidance to buyers, sellers, and public bodies with respect to transactions involving the redevelopment of contaminated property.

Our clients often come to us facing serious liability concerns and complex regulatory compliance issues. We take pride in our ability to:

develop creative, practical and cost effective solutions; creative, practical and cost effective solutions;
resolve disputes rather than to promote them; and
maximize the value of our collective expertise through continuous reliance on the benefits of team work among our attorneys and staff.

Brownfield Redevelopment

Maraziti, Falcon & Healeyey has been active in the Brownfield Redevelopment Arena for a number of years. Some of our recent Brownfield projects include:

The firm obtained the first Redevelopment Agreement with the State of New Jersey on behalf of a major retail developer under which the developer will be reimbursed over $1.2 million in cleanup costs incurred in connection with the Edison Crossroads Project in Edison, NJ.
Served as special counsel to the City of Trenton, the recipient of an EPA Brownfield Pilot Grant, to advise the City on Brownfield Redevelopment particularly with respect to cost recovery on site for which City holds tax sale certificates.
Represented large real estate development company in the purchase of a contaminated site in Belleville, New Jersey, for redevelopment as the location of a national retail chain. Guided client through appropriate due diligence of the property to identify the contamination and remediation needed. Negotiated escrow from Seller for cleanup costs and indemnification from future liability.
Represent a major real estate development company in purchase and lease back of a contaminated former electronic manufacturing facility for redevelopment as a major retail and residential project in Clifton, New Jersey. Negotiated broad indemnification from liability to protect the purchaser. Arranged for development to proceed on a portion of the property while the remaining parcel is remediated at Seller's expense. Post closing, continuing to represent purchaser in development of leases for retail tenants.
Represent developer in purchase and resale of contaminated parcel in Linden, New Jersey for development of retail chain. Assisted Seller in obtaining appropriate no further action approvals to allow the transaction to proceed.

Our lawyers have also been active in the Brownfield area on a pro bono basis. Joseph J. Maraziti, Jr. served as a member of the New Jersey Committee of the Regional Plan Association (RPA) during its active participation in the Orion Project--a project designed to demonstrate the validity of the Brownfields concept. On behalf of the Regional Plan Association, he also chaired its committee which formulated the RPA position on Senate Bill 1070. In that capacity, he testified before the New Jersey State Senate Environment Committee regarding the bill. Leah Healey was appointed in 1998 by Governor Christine T. Whitman to serve on the New Jersey Brownfields Task Force. Ms. Healey also serves on the Perth Amboy Brownfields Advisory Task Force, as a member of the Regional Plan Association's Metropolitan Brownfield Initiative, which is doing a case study on the impact of ISRA reforms on Brownfield redevelopment in New Jersey, and is a frequent lecturer on brownfields.

On March 20, 2003, the firm put on a seminar at the Short Hills Hilton that addressed these issues. It used to be that the government had to value contaminated property as if "clean," then bring a cleanup cost recovery action along with the condemnation action and ask the court to withhold the cleanup costs from the appraisal value. Then a court came along and said the cost recovery action could not be brought along with the condemnation action, which meant that the government had to pay inflated clean value for contaminated property only to watch as the property owner withdrew the money from court, as was his right, and left town, long before the government could file and win a subsequent cost recovery action. Now, with the Suydam decision, the government can appraise the property as "dirty" as part of the condemnation proceedings.

Our seminar touched on how the appraisal exercise will now require considerable input from the environmental consulting community and how this will likely increase the complexity of condemnation, unless competent counsel can guide the government through the process. By the end of the seminar, it became clear that this new case might simply spur all sides to negotiate more reasonably at the front end of the condemnation process so all parties could avoid the difficulties associated with litigating these new complexities. One suggestion was to have the government put its considerable powers for Brownfields redevelopment on the table in order to resolve the condemnation, cleanup and future liability issues in a way that would be satisfying to all parties. One thing was certain from the seminar, Maraziti, Falcon & Healey was crafting cutting-edge solutions to this difficult problem in full view of satisfied seminar attendees.