DeCotiis

James Esposito is a partner in the firm's Teaneck office. He joined DeCotiis in 2004 and became a Partner in 2007. He is a member of the Real Estate practice group.

Mr. Esposito focuses his practice on issues of property valuation in litigation.  He has represented numerous state, county and municipal entities in civil disputes before the Tax Court, the Superior Courts and the Appellate Courts of New Jersey.  Mr. Esposito has served as Lead Counsel to various municipalities and private entities throughout the state on complex tax appeals involving office complexes, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, flex buildings, apartment complexes, condominiums, golf courses and vacant land suitable for development.  He has also successfully defended municipalities in property tax appeals involving claims of exemption from local property tax for religious and/or charitable exemptions.  Mr. Esposito counsels public and private clients on a multitude of property tax exemption issues involving religious, educational, charitable, hospital and assisted living exemption issues, as well as applications for farmland assessment and farmland roll-back taxes.

Before beginning his legal career, Mr. Esposito worked in marketing for Dames & Moore, an environmental consulting firm in Cranford, New Jersey. Prior to joining DeCotiis, Mr. Esposito also served as Deputy Attorney General for the State of New Jersey representing such state agencies as the Department of Labor, the Motor Vehicle Commission and the Division of Taxation.  As a Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Esposito defended the Director of the Division of Taxation in litigation challenging the Director’s Table of Equalized Valuation and Corporate Business tax matter.  As a member of the firm, Mr. Esposito also successfully challenged the Director’s Table of Equalized Valuation, which saved our municipal clients significantly both in their contributions to the state and counties and defending property tax appeals in subsequent years.

Mr. Esposito also counsels and represents various government entities on eminent domain matters.  He represents municipal and county clients in all phases of eminent domain for public roadway projects.  As a member of DeCotiis, Mr. Esposito has managed the acquisition phase of properties on a large scale for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the Mercer County Improvement Authority from initial contact to acquisition and final litigation.   An expert in the field, Mr. Esposito has been a guest speaker for CLE International’s Eminent Domain Conference in New Jersey.

Representative Cases:

Congregation Anshe S’Fard v. Lakewood Township (Tax Court Docket No. 006851-2006) – the Plaintiff-Congregation appealed the Township of Lakewood’s denial of their application for exemption from local property tax as a parcel used for tax-exempt purposes under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6 (office/administrative space for Plaintiff-Congregation’s officiating clergyman;  storage or religious items; and recreational uses by the Plaintiff-Congregation’s members).  After a two-day trial, Mr. Esposito obtained an unpublished written opinion from the Tax Court affirming the Township’s denial of the Plaintiff-Congregation exemption claim.  The property in question was assessed for almost $1 million dollars.

Garden State Parkway Interchange 142 Improvement Project – this project involved the acquisition of full and partial numerous parcels of land necessary for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to reroute and improve the flow of traffic near Interchange 142 of the Garden State Parkway as part of a larger Department of Transportation project.  Mr. Esposito managed the acquisition phase of properties on a large scale from initial contact to acquisition and final litigation of all parcels.  All properties were acquired within the timeline required by the federal government and within the budget allocated for same.

Mr. Esposito received his B.A. in Political Science and Criminal Justice summa cum laude from Kean College in 1996, and his J.D. cum laude in 2000 from New England School of Law. In law school, he was a Lead Editor of the New England Journal on Criminal & Civil Confinement, in which he published an article examining whether prisoner use of the internet coincides with the reasons for imprisonment in the United States. 26 NEW ENG. J. ON CRIM. & CIV. CONFINEMENT 39 (2000). Immediately after law school, he clerked for the Honorable Joseph C. Small, Presiding Judge of the Tax Court of New Jersey.

Mr. Esposito also volunteers his time to charitable causes for children and military veterans.  He has been active for years in “Friends of Eddie Ryan”, a nonprofit in support of an injured Marine.  Mr. Esposito is a New Jersey native and lifetime resident.

Bar Admissions:
New Jersey (2000)
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (2000)
Third Circuit Court of Appeals (2003)