Profile
Liam maintains a broad practice grounded in all types of
real estate matters. Liam’s litigation practice focuses on property law,
including disputes involving title and boundary issues, easements, adverse
possession and prescriptive easements; public and private road issues; title
insurance claims; land use, zoning and Act 250; construction, condemnation and
tax appeals. In the course of his practice, Liam has represented landowners,
developers, municipalities and neighborhood groups in matters before the United
States District Court for the District of Vermont, the Vermont Supreme Court
(16 reported cases), Vermont Superior Courts, the Vermont Environmental Court,
the Vermont Environmental Board, the Water Resources Board, multiple Act 250
District Environmental Commissions, and various municipal zoning and planning
boards.
Liam’s transactional practice focuses on representing
property owners and developers to establish and manage their operating
entities, to acquire, finance, permit, manage, lease and/or sell (including
“1031 exchanges”) a wide variety of commercial, residential, hotel,
recreational, office and shopping center properties, and to establish
condominiums and common interest communities.
Representative
Engagements
- Special Counsel to the City of Winooski in connection
with the largest urban redevelopment project in the state’s history, involving
the acquisition of 125 acres from multiple owners through sales and
condemnation, obtaining master plan approval to construct over 300,000 sq. ft.
of retail/commercial space, a 250-room hotel, a 43,000 sq. ft. municipal
center, 800 units of housing, and 3,100 parking spaces in multiple parking
garages, and then working with private developers to implement the City’s
vision for a redeveloped downtown.
- Represented developers in connection with
acquisition, development, permitting, financing and leasing of numerous
commercial and multi-family housing projects.
- Represented property owner in 1031 exchange involving
the sale of a commercial stable and the acquisition of an existing self-storage
facility.
- Represented a municipality in Environmental Division
and Supreme Court appeals that upheld the municipality’s position that
blasting, drilling, and crushing ledge rock for gravel product does not qualify
as “gravel extraction” as permitted under the municipality’s zoning
regulations. The Supreme Court also addressed the statutory “deemed
approval” remedy for municipal panel decisions.
- Represented land owners in the Environmental Division
and Supreme Court appeals involving issues of collateral attacks on zoning
decisions and remedies of land owners relying on incorrect decisions made by
zoning administrators.
- Represented parties in Probate Court involving
disputes between executors, trustees and legatees of will and beneficiaries of
trusts.
