Mark S. Anderson, Attorney-at-Law

Mark received a B.S. in Physics, having also taken upper-level courses in Chemistry and Philosophy/Religion, from Wagner College in 1969. He earned a J.D. from Rutgers Law School, Newark, in 1972, and was admitted to the practice of law in New Jersey and before the United States District Court for New Jersey the same year. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. He has been in the private practice of law with the Firm since his admission.

His practice is wide-ranging, including local government law; land use law; civil and appellate litigation; formation and representation of entrepreneurial businesses, particularly in computer and other high-tech fields; as well as a number of other areas. The breadth of his legal interest and practice is reflected by the following cases which he has litigated, most of which are reported cases. These cases form a fraction of the cases in which he has participated:

The 1975 case of State v. Ryan, in which he was successful in a case in which an indigent Municipal Court defendant claimed the right to the services of an expert witness, at public expense, in addition to legal representation without charge. The case established the standards for publicly-paid experts in Municipal Court.

The 1977 case of Knox v. Krause, where he successfully represented a complainant in the N.J. Superior Court, which recognized the right to bring disorderly-persons charges in the County District Court instead of the usual Municipal Court venue. The N.J. Court Rules were subsequently changed in response.

The 1978 landmark case of McKinney v. Byrne in which he was an author of the Appellate Division and N.J. Supreme Court briefs opposing the State practice of diverting Gross Receipts tax revenues from municipalities, where they helped offset local property taxes, to the State~Rs general revenues.

The case of Ingersoll-Rand v. Ciavatta, which has reported New Jersey decisions in the Chancery Division (1986), the Appellate Division (1987) and the Supreme Court (1988), in which he was New Jersey counsel for Ingersoll-Rand in a case that established what remain the New Jersey standards for enforcement of post-employment restrictive covenants.

The 1987 case In re Will of Smith, where he obtained a reversal by the N. J. Supreme Court of an Appellate Division decision involving a holographic will, establishing the New Jersey standard for interpreting such wills. The case remains the standard New Jersey case on holographic wills.

The infamous 1990 Kin-Buk landfill case, a mammoth federal case in which dozens of municipalities were sued for the costs of environmental remediation of regional landfills, from which he was able to extricate his municipal client early in the proceedings, without trial.

The 1991 case of Branchburg Township v. Somerset Valley Sewerage Authority in which he obtained, over the objection of existing members, a Superior Court judgment granting Branchburg membership in a regional sewerage authority.

The 1994 case Rosenthal v. Rueter, which was litigated in the trial and appellate courts, in which Mark obtained judgments against participants in the design and construction of a large truss-roofed barn and arena that collapsed after snowfall.

The 2004 case New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection v. Dimant, in which he achieved an early dismissal without trial for his client from a case involving allegations of ground water pollution by laundry and dry cleaning establishments. The case continued into 2012 for other defendants.

The 2008 case Hillsborough Storage v. Zoning Board of Adjustment, in which he resuccessfully defended the Board's interpretation of the municipal ordinance in a land use case involving a self-storage use.

The 2009 case GC Landmarks v. Zoning Board of Adjustment, a land use case in which he defended the Board in a use variance case.

The 2010 case Campus Associates v. Zoning Board of Adjustment, in which he represented the Board in a land use case establishing the standing of a non-applicant land owner.

The 2011 case Sachau v. Sachau, a post-judgment divorce case that extended from 2004 to 2011, in which he was able to overcome Appellate Division decisions in the N.J. Supreme Court and obtain for his client additional funds from the sale of a former marital home.

The 2013 case of Advance v. Board of Adjustment, in which he represented amicus curiae in the Appellate Division land use case establishing the current standard for deciding variance applications that include affordable housing.

Gannett v. Borough of Raritan, in which he represented the Borough from 2010 through 2015 in a case of first impression interpreting the application of the State Open Public Records Act to computerized records.

Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Township of Branchburg, recently resolved by the New Jersey Supreme Court in favor of Branchburg, in which he represented the Township in a major re-zoning case which has explored the standards applicable to municipal re-zoning.

Notwithstanding his experience and interest in litigation, Mark considers his frequent success in helping clients avoid litigation to be the greater accomplishment.

In addition to presently being the senior partner of Woolson Anderson Peach, he has been the IT director of the firm since its first word processors were purchased in the early 1970s. He is in charge of day-to-day computer operations as well as long-term computer and telecommunications planning.

Mark has served since the 1970s as a local government and land use attorney. He presently represents the Hillsborough Township Zoning Board of Adjustment; the Union Township, Hunterdon County, Planning Board; Califon Borough; and the Somerset-Union Soil Conservation District. He represented Branchburg Township for more than four decades, and Raritan Borough as Borough Attorney from January 2010 through February 2014 and as Special Litigation Counsel through 2015. He has been a member of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Legislative Committee for more than 30 years and is appointed by the League as an Associate Counsel. He has provided presentations for the League at its annual conference in Atlantic City and for other organizations, including a presentation with Hopewell Borough Administrator Michele Hovan to the 46th Annual Rutgers University Public Purchasing Educational Forum on April 29, 2015 and as a presenter for "Bid Bonds, Consent of Surety & Procurement: All You Need to Know" at the 2019 League annual conference.

He represents a number of small and medium-sized entrepreneurial businesses, including Lion Technology, Inc, which he also served as a member of its Board of Directors. From 2002 through 2009, while One Call Systems, Inc. of Pittsburgh operated the New Jersey One Call system, he was the New Jersey attorney for the company, representing it in contract negotiations, issues before the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, and in litigation involving the New Jersey One Call System. He has represented owners in managing and buying and selling various types of businesses.

He has also served on the non-profit Boards of Trustees of Somerset-Sussex Legal Services, the Raritan Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, Family Counseling Services of Somerset County and HomeSharing. He represented W3R, the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, a federally-recognized non-profit dedicated to recognizing, marking and celebrating the march of Generals Washington and Rochambeau that ultimately led to the British surrender at Yorktown.

His non-legal interests, in addition to computers, include domestic and international travel, van camping and local politics. He served as an elected County Committee member for over a decade.

He is married to Dr. Patricia Ann Brock, who is a college professor and educational consultant.

Mark's expertise and experience are available to public-sector and private clients for advice, representation, civil litigation and mediation.

© 2020 Woolson Anderson Peach, PC