Biography
Prior to starting his legal career in 2003, John was heavily involved in the construction industry in New York and New Jersey. He started in the construction industry by working as a laborer, progressing to labor foreman, assistant superintendent, and ultimately superintendent on many heavy highway and heavy civil construction projects throughout the Northeast. John’s hands-on field experience includes bridges, piers, highways, airports, and underground construction. While working in the field, John also attended New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he received his B.S. degree in Civil Engineering in 2000, with honors. John is a member of Chi Epsilon – the Civil Engineering Honors Society – and is also the recipient of the 1998 Robert Ridgeway Award acknowledging him as the top engineering student in New Jersey for 1998.
John received his Juris Doctorate degree in 2003 from Widener University School of Law, located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His practice focuses primarily on heavy civil construction and commercial litigation. John remains actively involved in the construction industry and attends meetings and seminars with the various construction associations throughout the country. John is a member of the state and federal bars for New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. When John is in Texas he will be in the Austin office.
Education
- Widener University School of Law – J.D., 2003
- New Jersey Institute of Technology – B.S., 2000
Recognitions & Distinctions
- AV Rated – Martindale Hubbell
Representative Experience
- Assisted clients with claim preparation, document and damage tracking, and preserved the clients’ rights during actual construction of countless projects to obtain amicable resolutions and avoid litigation. These projects included bridges, tunnels, highways, tunneling and sunken caissons across the country.
- Ingerman Affordable Housing v. Langan Engineering & Environmental Services (American Arbitration Association, 2014). Successfully defended alleged breach of contract and professional malpractice claims arising out of the development of a Brownfield, located in Jersey City, NJ. The developer claimed that, because the contractor had needed to export more than 10,000cy of contaminated material, Langan must have erroneously represented the site as being generally balanced. Successfully proved that the developer’s construction arm knowingly subcontracted with its earthwork contractor to utilize and spread 10,000cy of recycled concrete aggregate on-site for surcharging material without any thought as to the impact and need to then export an equal volume of on-site contaminated material. Arbitration Panel ruled that Plaintiff’s claims were entirely without merit and frivolous and awarded Langan its defense costs and fees.
- Intercounty Paving Associates, LLP v. PennDOT, (Board of Claims, 2009). Recovered three-quarters of a million dollars on behalf of the contractor in delay damages caused by PennDOT’s active interference, misrepresentations, defective plans and specifications, and its failure to recognize the legitimate financial interests of the contractor. Overcame no-damage-for-delay exculpatory language in the contract as well as PennDOT’s defense that the contractor was required to “coordinate” utility relocations.
- Schiavone Construction Co., Inc. v. MTA, (DRB, 2008). Achieved multimillion-dollar recovery on behalf of the Design-Builder for chemical grouting work directed by the Authority’s Engineer on a new subway station located forty feet below sea level in Battery Park, New York, New York. Proved that the Authority — despite its post-contractual spin of defective work and deficient notice defenses – prescribed the waterproofing materials and other material design requirements that the Design-Builder was mandated to follow and incorporate into the “final” design; knowingly structured the contract to reimburse the Design-Builder for actual costs incurred for chemical grouting as “extra work”; directed bidders to estimate a prescribed amount of chemical grouting for bidding purposes as a baseline to evaluate bids and to keep all bidders on a level playing field; and contemplated that the actual amount of chemical grouting required would be determined by the Authority’s Engineer based on actual field conditions. At trial, the Authority’s Engineer admitted that the aforementioned procedure was established because of the complexity and location of the new structure (sited between and under existing subways) and the unknowns associated with actual volumes required for injecting chemical grout in structures well below the water table of the adjacent Hudson River, Hudson Bay, and East River.
Speaking Engagements & Presentations
- Yearly speaker at the American Bar Association Construction SuperConference on construction related issues, including government terminations for convenience, underground tunneling, and OSHA investigations.
Publications
- Terminating Government Contracts: Overcoming Challenges, in Aspatore’s Inside the Minds: Trends in Government Contracting, (Thomson Reuters/Aspatore, 2012)
Memberships & Affiliations
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- Chi Epsilon – National Civil Engineering Honor Society
- American Society of Military Engineers
- American Bar Association
- New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas – Construction Law Sections
- Organizations: UTCA (Utility and Transportation Contractors Association), CIAP (Construction Industry Advancement Program); AGC Various State Chapters, AGC of America, the Moles, the Beavers
- Member of The Moles, an organization composed of individuals now or formally engaged in the construction of tunnel, subway, sewer, foundation, marine, sub-aqueous or other heavy construction projects
Admissions
- State Bar of New York
- State Bar of New Jersey
- State Bar of Pennsylvania
- State Bar of Texas
- Various Federal Courts in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas