Michael J. Ciota concentrates his practice in municipal law representing cities and towns and their boards and agencies, real estate and land use law, employment law and landlord-tenant law. He was counsel to the Fitchburg Board of Health from 1984 to January 2002. He presently serves as Fitchburg City Solicitor and has been Associate Town Counsel for Palmer representing the town's land use boards since 1987.
He has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the City Solicitor/Town Counsel Association since 1994. Elected as Vice-President in 2001, he served as the President during the Association's 2002-2003 year. He regularly lectures and writes materials for educational programs including those of the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), the Attorney General annual Municipal Law Program, and Massachusetts Environmental Health Association.
Mr. Ciota's experience in zoning and planning ranges from drafting zoning by-laws, litigating zoning trials and appeals. He has lectured on topics ranging from the conduct of zoning board hearings to the zoning amendment process. He has written and given lectures on a wide variety of land use matters including: "Regulatory Takings," appearing in "Municipalities Facing a Barrage of Lawsuits" (MCLE, Inc., No. 97-05.11, 1997); "Due Process Issues In Land Use", City Solicitor and Town Counsel Association, 2001; "Zoning & Planning - Selected Cases 2002," appearing in Environmental & Land Use Law Conference, Volume I, Section 12, pp.189-201 (MCLE #2003-83003-25).
Mr. Ciota is the author of "Taxation of Real Estate, Tax Collection and Demolition of Unsafe and Abandoned Buildings," appearing in Massachusetts Municipal Law, Volume I, Chapter 11, pp. 11-1 to 11-34 (MCLE # 2002-910002-20); "Inter-municipal Agreements - Wastewater Collection, Treatment & Disposal" ; "An Unusual Ethics Issue For Employees Of Regional Districts," appearing in Inter-municipal Agreements and Disagreements (CSTCA, 1997); "Demolition Of Unsafe Buildings" (CSTCA and Massachusetts Environmental Health Association); "The Right of Privacy," appearing in The Record on Public Records (CSTCA, 1997); "First Amendment Obligations of Government to its Employees", (CSTCA); and "Noisome Trades" (Massachusetts Environmental Health Association, 2003).
Mr. Ciota has many years of experience representing municipalities in such diverse areas as tort/contract, zoning and demolition/regulatory takings cases. He developed, implemented and managed a multi-pronged legal strategy for collecting delinquent property taxes. He has provided legal representation in such diverse municipal areas as public bidding and management of contracts, sale of municipal services, including water, sewer, and wastewater treatment services to other municipalities, elections, legislative, zoning and license matters, budget and finance drafting and enforcement of conservation ordinances, contract, personnel. The issues have included constitutional claims (First, Fourth, Fourteenth Amendments, Privileges and Immunities, Commerce Clause) implementation of state/federal mandates charitable trusts and hospital mergers, and proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusions. He worked closely with, and represented, the Planning Boards, Building Inspectors, Zoning Boards, Conservation Commissions and Boards of Health on housing, zoning, demolition, planning, subdivision and the on Zoning/Building Code enforcement matters and the exercise/defense of municipal eminent domain.
Mr. Ciota has represented landlords, including owners of 1-3 family owner-occupied buildings to owners and managers of large subsidized multi-family/elderly apartment complexes, providing consultation and litigation services for often complex evictions and the many issues facing landlords. He specializes in assisting landlords in designing their businesses to avoid litigation. He currently serves as counsel to the Northern Worcester Landlord Association and contributes articles to the Association's newsletter.
Mr. Ciota has wide litigation and consultation experience in specialized landlord-tenant areas such as mobile home park tenancies, motel/lodging house tenancies, Section 8, state and federal multi-family housing programs, community residential housing for disabled tenants and shelters for battered women.
Mr. Ciota has taught day-long seminars to landlords and apartment managers on eviction and summary process cases with a special focus on evicting/managing the difficult tenant. He has authored "Massachusetts Landlord and Tenant Law: "Managing the Difficult Tenant," Lorman Education Services (2002) and "Massachusetts Landlord and Tenant Law," Lorman Education Services (2003), texts on Massachusetts landlord-tenant law, including evictions, common defenses, discrimination and counterclaims.
Michael Ciota graduated from Hofstra University of Law "with distinction" in 1974. He currently serves as a member of the Department Of Public Health's Housing Advisory Committee considering revisions to the State Sanitary Code.
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