Professional Experience
Mr. Stracco, the Real Estate Litigation practice group chair, practices in the areas of real estate, property, and general commercial litigation, including zoning and real property-related litigation, wireless and cellular telecommunications, prerogative writ, riparian rights, quiet title, deed restrictions, adverse possession, real property tax appeals, real property taxation consulting, tax foreclosures, condemnation, eminent domain, valuation litigation, and landlord-tenant litigation and lease disputes.
Mr. Stracco has been designated by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, Board on Attorney Certification, as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney.
His experience includes general commercial, tax and real property-related litigation and appeals before the courts of New Jersey; and before United States District Court for the District of New Jersey; United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York (admitted pro hac vice); United States Court of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits; United States Bankruptcy Court.
Mr. Stracco has handled cases in all 15 of New Jersey's Superior Court vicinages.
Mr. Stracco has appeared before land use boards, governing bodies, county planning boards, and chosen Freeholders in connection with land use disputes, and has served as the Chairman of the Zoning Board of Adjustment of Frelinghuysen Township.
Mr. Stracco has served as Special Property Tax and Litigation Counsel for Belleville Township.
Mr. Stracco was appointed to the 2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, and 2010-2012 terms of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on the Tax Court.
Mr. Stracco has also served on the board of editors for the ABA's Property Tax Deskbook, published by the ABA's Section of Taxation.
Representative Matters
· Mesquite Tower Consulting LLC et al. v. Township of Toms River et al., 2011 N.J. Super. Unpubl. LEXIS 2376 (App. Div. 2011)
· Society of the Holy Child Jesus v. City of Summit, 205 N.J. Super. 365 (App. Div. 2011)
· Pio Costa et al. v. Township of Fairfield Planning Board, et al., 2010 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2267 (App. Div. 2010)
· Cellco Partnership et al. v. Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Township of Lawrence, 2010 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2249 (App. Div. 2010)
· AHS Hospital Corp. v. Town of Morristown, 25 N.J. Tax 374 (Tax Ct. 2010)
· Lucent Technologies, Inc. v. Township of Berkeley Heights, 201 N.J. 237 (2010) (on the brief)
· New Cingular Wireless PCS LLC v. Zoning Board of the Township of Hanover, 2010 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 502 (App. Div. 2010)
· Griffin v. Barnegat Township Committee, 2009 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2673 (App. Div., 2009)
· Jamy Enterprises, LLC v. E&S Food Service Corp., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39294 (D.N.J. 2009)
· Friends of Peapack-Gladstone v. Borough of Peapack-Gladstone Land Use Board et al., 407 N.J. Super. 404 (App. Div. 2009)
· Lucent Technologies, Inc. v. Township of Berkeley Heights, 405 N.J. Super. 257 (App. Div. 2009) (on the brief)
· Society of the Holy Child Jesus v. Summit City, 23 N.J. Tax 528 (Tax Ct. 2007)
· Blackstock v. ExxonMobil Oil Corp. et al., 2007 WL 1498891 (App. Div. 2007)
· CCG Holdings, Inc. v. Hickory Tree Properties, LLC, 2007 WL 1518299 (App. Div. 2007)
· McCann v. George W. Newman Irrevocable Trust et al., 2007 WL 1352832 (D.N.J. 2007)
· McCann v. George W. Newman Irrevocable Trust, 458 F.3d 281 (3d Cir. 2006)
· Rosedale Manor Associates, LLP v. The Borough of Madison et al., 2006 WL 3751353 (D.N.J. 2006) (counsel)
· Simonetti v. Board of Adjustment of the Township of Millburn, 2004 WL 1631399 (Law Div. 2004)
· Job Haines Home for the Aged v. Township of Bloomfield, 21 N.J. Tax 198 (App. Div. 2003) (on the brief)
· Job Haines Home for the Aged v. Township of Bloomfield, 20 N.J. Tax 137 (App. Div. 2002) (on the brief)
· Hickory Garden Country Club, Inc. v. Borough of Totowa, 2002 N.J. Agen Lexis 1523 (OAL April 25, 2002), aff'd., 2002 N.J. Agen. Lexis 1523 (Director, ABC, June 13, 2002), vacated, 2002 N.J. Agen Lexis 1524 (Director, ABC, December 2, 2002)
· Job Haines Home for the Aged v. Township of Bloomfield, 19 N.J. Tax 408 (Tax Ct. 2001) (trial counsel)
· American Cyanamid Co. v. Township of Wayne, 19 N.J. Tax 45 (App. Div. 2000) (on the brief)
· American Cyanamid Co. v. Township of Wayne, 17 N.J. Tax 542 (Tax Ct. 1998) (trial counsel)
· ML Plainsboro Limited Partnership v. Township of Plainsboro Zoning Board of Adjustment, et al., 316 N.J. Super. 200 (App. Div. 1998) (on the brief)
· ML Plainsboro Limited Partnership v. Township of Plainsboro, 16 N.J. Tax 250 (App. Div. 1997) (on the brief)
· Beneficial Facilities Corp. v. Borough of Peapack-Gladstone, 13 N.J. Tax 112 (App. Div. 1992) (on the brief and reply brief)
· Ford Motor Company v. Township of Edison, 127 N.J. 290 (1992) (on the briefs)
· Ford Motor Company v. Township of Edison, 12 N.J. Tax 244 (App. Div. 1990) (on the brief and reply brief)
News, Publications & Presentations
· Speaker, "Annual New Jersey Seminar for Property Tax Professionals," Society of Professional Assessors, March 23, 2012
· Co-author, "Deadlines for Appealing NJ Property Tax Assessments Are Fast Approaching," Day Pitney Alert, March 7, 2012
· Quoted, "Peapack-Gladstone cottages again at center of dispute," The Bernardsville News, October 7, 2011
· Speaker, "Tax Appeal Fundamentals and Update from the Tax Court," Society of Professional Assessors' Annual New Jersey Seminar for Property Tax Professionals, April 15, 2011
· Featured, "Thirty-three Day Pitney Attorneys Named New Jersey Super Lawyers," Day Pitney Press Release, March 31, 2011
· Co-author, "To Reval or Not to Reval? Municipalities Face Legal and Budgetary Challenges Before and After Undertaking Revaluations," IPT Tax Report, March 2011
· Speaker, "Tax Appeal Seminar," Morris County Bar Association, February 28, 2011
· Featured, "School Property Tax Exemption Need Not Comply With Municipal Zoning Ordinance," New Jersey Law Journal, February 21, 2011
· Quoted, "Belleville urges Walter-Kidde neighbors to take precaution," Bergen Record, February 10, 2011
· Quoted, "Developer sues Branchburg board over denial of shopping center plan," Courier News, January 19, 2011
· Quoted, "Residents Sue to Block Cell Tower in Essex Fells," New Jersey Star-Ledger, February 18, 2010
· Co-author, "New Property Tax Legislation in Effect Just in Time for April 1 Appeal Deadline," Day Pitney Alert, February 4, 2010
· Speaker, "How To Successfully Handle Real Property Tax Appeals," Morris County Bar Association, January 13, 2010
· Quoted, "Barnegat Township Zoning Board Must Revisit Cellular Tower Application," Press of Atlantic City, August 7, 2009
· Quoted, "Golf club housing allowed to go forward," The Star-Ledger, June 11, 2009
· "New Jersey Appellate Court Addresses Effect of Use of Contaminated Property on Assessment," IPT Property Tax Report, April 2009
· Speaker, "Recent Developments," ABA/IPT Advanced Property Tax Seminar, March 5, 2009
· Co-author, "Deadline Approaching To File Real Property Tax Assessment Appeals In New Jersey," Day Pitney Alert, February 17, 2009
· Chapter Author & Regional Editor, "14th Edition of the Property Tax Deskbook," American Bar Association, 2009
· Chapter author, "13th Edition of the Property Tax Deskbook," American Bar Association, 2008
· Quoted, "Judge: Golf Club Cottages Are O.K.," The Star-Ledger, April 25, 2008
· Speaker, "Annual New Jersey Seminar for Assessing & Appraisal Professionals," Society of Professional Assessors, April 11, 2008
· Collen R. Donovan and Christopher John Stracco Featured in Real Estate New Jersey as Two of the State's Most Prominent Real Estate Attorneys
· "Deadline Approaching To File Real Property Tax Assessment Appeals in New Jersey," Day Pitney Alert, March 5, 2008
· "Repercussions of the Reduced Property Tax,"New Jersey Law Journal, February 4, 2008
· Quoted, "Lawsuit Dismissal Denied: P-G Still Caught in Hamilton Farm Cottage Home Litigation," Bernardsville News, September 12, 2007
· Christopher John Stracco Quoted in The Record's Article, "Wayne, Cingular Wireless Await Ruling"
· Christopher John Stracco Interviewed by Scott Pringle of WGHT Newsradio, 1500 AM, In Connection With Decision Obtained On Behalf of Cingular Wireless, July 10, 2007
· Christopher John Stracco Authors Article in The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, "Property Tax Reform Is Here, Now What?"
· Partner Christopher John Stracco To Speak At The Society of Professional Assessors Annual New Jersey Seminar
· Partner Christopher John Stracco to speak at Advanced Property Tax Seminar
· Speaker, "Valuation of Entertainment Venues," The Society of Professional Assessors Annual New Jersey Seminar, March 2007
· Speaker, "Eminent Domain and Economic Development Truth vs. Myth," Fourth Annual Morris County (NJ) Municipal Summit sponsored by the Morris County Economic Development Corporation, March 2007
· Speaker, "Valuation of Casino Properties," ABA/IPT, March 2007
· Christopher John Stracco Interviewed By Gannett New Jersey Regarding Democrats' New Tax-Reform Plan
· "Tackling Property Tax Reform: Committees Set to Advise Governor on Four Tough Issues," The New Jersey Law Journal, October 23, 2006
· The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel Interviews Christopher Stracco
· "Property Taxes in New Jersey: Lots of Questions, Few Answers," Interview with The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, October 2006
· Property Tax Reform in New Jersey: What's In It (Or Not In It) for Business?
· "Property Tax Reform in New Jersey: What's In It (Or Not In It) for Business?" Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, August 2006
· Panelist, "Are You Inside, Outside, On the Line-up, or at the Take-off Point? - State Roll Call - Legislation and Regulation," 30th Annual Conference of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation, June 28, 2006, Huntington Beach, California
· "Cell Phone Antenna Has Alternate Site," The Star-Ledger, April 7, 2006
· Panelist, "Recent Developments in Property Taxation," Joint American Bar Association / Institute for Professionals in Taxation seminar, March 30, 2006, Atlanta, Georgia
· "Chester Twp. Gets Trial Date on Lawsuit," The Star-Ledger, March 16, 2006
· "Something's Got To Go in Tax Brouhaha," New Jersey Law Journal, February 27, 2006
· "Tax Reform: The Devil Is In The Details," Real Estate New Jersey, February 2006
· Chapter 31, Property Tax Deskbook, 2006 Edition, published by the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, 2006
· "Some Options for Corzine in Property Tax Reform," Daily Record, December 18, 2005
· Co-author, "Recent Property Tax Developments in the Northeast," published in the materials for the 14th Annual Joint ABA/IPT Conference on Property Taxation, March 18, 2005
· Panelist, "Recent Developments - Midwest and Northeast," American Bar Association 14th Annual Seminars Advanced Sales/Use Tax and Advanced Property Tax, March 18, 2005, New Orleans, Louisiana
· Chapter 31, Property Tax Deskbook, 2005 Edition, published by the ABA Section of Taxation, 2005
· Chapter 31, Property Tax Deskbook, 2004 Edition, published by the ABA Section of Taxation, 2004
· Chapter 31, Property Tax Deskbook, 2003 Edition, published by the ABA Section of Taxation, 2003
· "Tax Appeals: Bit of Everything," New Jersey Lawyer, April 29, 2002
· "Property Tax Appeals: Procedural Issues Prevail," with Richard L. Plotkin, New Jersey Lawyer, April 30, 2001
· Chapter 31, Property Tax Deskbook, 2001 Edition, published by the ABA Section of Taxation, 2001
· "Has New Jersey Finally Seen The Light?" Federalist Society Religious Liberties News, Winter 2000, p.1
· "Tax Appeals Slow Down, Procedural Issues Dominate," The New Jersey Lawyer, June 12, 2000, p.8
· "FIRREA And Local Property Tax Liens: A Collision of Competing Government Interests," with Paul J. Halasz, Probate & Property Magazine, May/June 2000, p.8
· Chapter 31, Property Tax Deskbook, 2000 Edition, published by the ABA Section of Taxation, 2000
Professional Affiliations
· American Bar Association
· New Jersey State Bar Association
· Morris County Bar Association
· Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
· Institute of Professionals in Taxation
· American Trial Lawyers Association
· Bar Association of the Third Federal Circuit
· New Jersey Wireless Association
· Historical Society of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
· Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey
· The Trial Attorneys of New Jersey
· Coptic Lawyers Association
Outside Interests
· Tri-County Scholarship Fund, Trustee
Awards and Achievements
· Recognized as a New Jersey Super Lawyer, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011