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Michael J. Cacace

  • Founding Partner
  • Attorney

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Practice Areas:

  • Zoning, Planning and Land Use
  • Administrative Law
  • Real Property
  • Litigation
  • Commercial Law
  • Construction Law
  • Taxation Valuation
  • Tax Appeals

Biography

Michael J. Cacace is the founding partner of Cacace, Tusch & Santagata. His practice focuses on civil litigation, real estate and land use. He holds a B.A. degree from Fordham College and a J.D. degree from New York Law School, and is admitted to practice before the courts in Connecticut and New York. He is a former president of the Stamford Regional Bar Association and a former chairman of the Planning and Zoning Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. He is a board member of Regional Plan Association and a member of the Connecticut Committee of the Regional Plan and has lectured and written articles on land use issues in Connecticut, including articles in the Connecticut Bar Journal. He was recently listed as one of the Top Lawyers in Connecticut by Connecticut Magazine, Westchester Magazine, and New York magazine in the areas of real estate and zoning.

Mr. Cacace was named Community Leader of the Year by the Advocate in 1986. He was named Citizen of the year by the Fred Robinson, Jewish War Veterans Post in 1995 and received the President's Award from the Stamford United Way in 1995 and the Humanitarian Award from the Southwestern Connecticut Association of Life Underwriters in 1988. Mr. Cacace was named Man of the Year by State Street Debating Society in 2011 and was honored as the first recipient of the Arts Ovation Award in 2010 by the Stamford Center for the Arts. He also received the Good Scout Award from the Connecticut Yankee Council, Boy Scouts of America, in 2001 and was honored by the Council of Italian American Organizations in 2007.

Mr. Cacace served on the Democratic National Committee, representing Connecticut. He has served as president of the United Way of Stamford; president of the United Way of Connecticut; chairman of the Stamford Commission on Aging; co-chairman of the Stamford 13th Charter Revision Commission; chairman of the Stamford Redistricting Commissions in both 1991 and 2001 and president of the Stamford Center for the Arts, the Italian Center of Stamford and the Volunteer Center of Southwestern Connecticut. More recently he served as Chairman of the Ferguson Library Board of Trustees. 

Education

  • New York Law School, New York, New York
    • J.D. - 1978
    • Honors: cum laude
    • Honors: Dr. Max Reich Award, 1978
  • Fordham University
    • B.A. - 1974

Bar Admission

  • Connecticut, 1978
  • New York, 1979
  • U.S. District Court District of Connecticut, 1979
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1982
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, 1982

Published Works

  • Chapter, Elderly Law Desk Manual, Age Discrimination Law, 1981

Representative Cases

  • Alvord Inv., LLC v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of City of Stamford, 282 Conn. 393, 920 A.2d 1000, 2007
  • Bongiorno Supermarket, Inc. v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 266 Conn. 531, 833 A.2d 883, 2003
  • Quarry Knoll II Corp. v. Planning and Zoning Commission, 256 Conn. 674, 780 A.2d 1,, 2001
  • Miles v. Foley, 253 Conn. 381, 752 A.2d 503, 2000
  • Smith v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 227 Conn. 71, 629 A.2d 1089, 1993
  • Benenson v. Board of Representatives, 223 Conn. 777, 612 A.2d 50, 1992
  • Stamford Ridgeway Associates v. Board of Representatives, 214 Conn. 407, 572 A.2d 951, 1990
  • Connecticut Health Facilities, Inc. v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 29 Conn. App. 1, 613 A.2d 1358, 1992
  • Newbury Commons Limited Partnership v. Stamford, 226 Conn. 92, 1993

Honors

  • Community Leader of the Year, Stamford Advocate
  • Humanitarian Award, Southern Connecticut Association of Life Underwriters
  • One of the Best Attorneys in Connecticut, New York Magazine
  • Stamford Lawyer of the Year in Real Estate Litigation, Best Lawyer
  • One of the Top Lawyers in Connecticut, Connecticut Magazine
  • One of the Top Lawyers in Connecticut, Westchester Magazine
  • Connecticut Super Lawyer
  • AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
  • Best Lawyers in America
  • President’s Award, Stamford United Way
  • Citizen of the Year, Fred Robinson Post #42 of the Jewish War Veterans
  • Man of the Year, State Street Debating Society
  • First Recipient of Arts Ovation Award, Stamford Center for the Arts
  • Good Scout Award, Boy Scouts of America, Connecticut Yankee Council
  • Learned Hand Award, AJC Westchester/Fairfield

Pro-Bono Activities

  • Stamford Center for the Arts, Board of Directors, Member, 1985 to 2007
  • Stamford Center for the Arts, Vice President, 1989 to Present
  • Stamford Economic Assistance Corp., Member, 1984 to 1985
  • United Way of Stamford, Member, 1988 to 1994
  • United Way of Stamford, Vice President, 1989 to 1992
  • United Way of Stamford, President, 1992 to 1994
  • United Way of Connecticut, Member, 1988 to 1993
  • United Way of Connecticut, President, 1990 to 1993
  • Democratic National Committee, Former Member
  • Stamford Redistricting Commission, Chairman, 1991, 2001, 2011
  • Italian Center of Stamford, President
  • Volunteer Center of Southwestern Connecticut, President
  • Ferguson Library Board of Trustees, Chairman, 2009-2015
  • American Bar Association, Committee on Regulation of Land Use, Member
  • Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association
  • American Association for Justice

Past Positions

  • Stamford Commission on the Aging, Member, 1975 to 1981
  • Stamford Commission on the Aging, Chairman, 1979 to 1981
  • Stamford 13th Charter Revision Commission, Co-Chairman, 1982 to 1983
  • Stamford Redistricting Commission, 1991, 2001, 2017

Professional Associations

  • Stamford/Norwalk Regional Bar Association, Executive Committee, Member, 1981 to 1992
  • Stamford/Norwalk Regional Bar Association, Treasurer, 1986 to 1986
  • Stamford/Norwalk Regional Bar Association, Secretary, 1987 to 1987
  • Stamford/Norwalk Regional Bar Association, 2nd Vice President, 1988 to 1988
  • Stamford/Norwalk Regional Bar Association, 1st Vice President, 1989 to 1989
  • Stamford/Norwalk Regional Bar Association, President, 1990 to 1991
  • Connecticut Bar Association, Planning and Zoning Section, Member
  • Connecticut Bar Association, Planning and Zoning Section, Vice Chairman, 1991 to 1992
  • Connecticut Bar Association, Planning and Zoning Section, Chairman, 1994 to 1996
  • New York State Bar Association
  • Connecticut Committee of the Regional Plan Association, Inc., Member, 1987 to 1987
  • Connecticut Committee of the Regional Plan Association, Co-Chairman