Litigation

Protecting our clients’ interests at the trial and appellate levels
Our Approach

Our attorneys prosecute and defend lawsuits in federal, state, and municipal courts. We take the time to learn each client’s individual case as though we lived it. Our reputation for high quality oral and written advocacy is one we have cultivated with the courts and our adversaries over decades.

Our litigators are also pragmatic and drive litigation strategy based on a client’s business and individual goals. That means litigating through trial and/or appeal, utilizing alternative dispute resolution such as mediation and arbitration, or advising on settlement strategies. And because we are a full-service firm, we bring our insight as land use, zoning, municipal, transactional, and real estate practitioners when we litigate. Our litigation department is also frequently called upon to litigate commercial and business disputes unrelated to our real estate development practices.

What We Do

  • Article 78 proceedings
  • Appeals
  • State/federal land use constitutional and civil rights
  • Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA)
  • Fair Housing Act (FHA)
  • Padavan Law
  • Condemnation and Eminent Domain
  • Property and title disputes, including adverse possession/prescriptive easement
  • Contract and business disputes
  • Environmental, including SEQRA and NY Navigation Law
  • Arbitration/mediation
  • Zoning and building code enforcement actions
  • Administrative Hearings
Recent News
David Cooper and Lee J. Lefkowitz successfully counseled a client through the final stages of approving the Continental Commons development project in Fishkill. Zarin & Steinmetz advised the client in securing the last of its municipal land use approvals (site plan and subdivision) and in completing all post-approval obligations required by the Town of Fishkill....
Zarin & Steinmetz attorney Lee J. Lefkowitz obtained a significant win for a developer building a 16-unit multifamily housing project in Orange County. The lawsuit—Garden Housing v. Noam Estates, No. EF003060-2025—sought to block construction of the approved project through claims of trespass and a request for a preliminary injunction. The plaintiff, a neighboring property owner,...
On June 9, 2025, Michael Zarin and Lee Lefkowitz filed their brief in Hudson View Park Company v. Town of Fishkill before the New York State Court of Appeals—New York’s highest court. Z&S’s appeal arrives at a pivotal moment in the state’s intensifying housing crisis and poses key questions about a builder’s pursuit of residential...