Dave Kinkopf

Dave Kinkopf recently led a team of Gallagher Evelius & Jones LLP attorneys in a successful effort by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore to obtain legal authority to demolish the Rochambeau apartment building and create a prayer garden in memory of His Holiness Pope John Paul II. The apartment building was located in Baltimore City on the corner of a block dominated by the Baltimore Basilica, officially known as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A group of strong-willed advocates opposed the demolition at every stage of the approval process, claiming that the dilapidated apartment building should be saved notwithstanding the prohibitive cost and the value the demolition will add to the truly historic Basilica, a building designed by Benjamin Latrobe as the nation's first Cathedral.

A comprehensive renovation of the Basilica was completed in November, 2006. The Gallagher Evelius & Jones team helped the Archdiocese navigate the complicated procedure to obtain a demolition permit from Baltimore City and then, in a matter of a few intense weeks, the case proceeded from an administrative hearing process to the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore City, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, and the Maryland Court of Appeals. Mr. Kinkopf, assisted by Brian Tucker and Ryan Potter, prevailed at each stage of the case.