
John D. Tower - Partner
Partner John D. Tower’s primary focuses are Civil Litigation and Municipal Law. He served as New Milford’s Town Attorney from December 2015 through September 2017, a role he shared with Partner D. Randall DiBella. He was Assistant Town Attorney for New Milford from 2003 to 2015.
Based on long experience and a history of successful outcomes in wide-ranging civil litigation for private clients, Attorney Tower often takes on more complicated cases involving construction, contract, property, business, partnership, trust, and estate disputes.
As part of Cramer & Anderson’s interdisciplinary team approach, Attorney Tower additionally plays a key role in such cases as the one in which the firm obtained a $1 million settlement for the family of a man killed in a cycling accident.
Passion for the law, rigorous research and preparation, and exacting attention to detail are qualities Attorney Tower brings to all of his Practice Areas—but he is also known within the firm and beyond for his tendency to make instant connections with people and engage with everyone in a manner that’s as friendly and easygoing as it is professional.
Attorney Tower’s empathy for those who have been wronged was notably displayed in a recent case involving a client scammed by a home improvement contractor. Winning a trial judgment of more than $471,000 should have been cause for celebration, but when it became clear the contractor lacked funds to pay the judgment, Attorney Tower pursued an outside-the-box strategy that produced a very creative successful outcome—the community coming together to the rescue of the wronged client.
In his Municipal Law role, Attorney Tower represented the Town of New Milford and other area towns in a variety of actions. He advises officials on matters of law, oversees the drafting of ordinances, assists in negotiating contracts and contract renewals, and represents municipalities in disputes with vendors. Attorney Tower regularly handles tax appeals involving complex valuation issues for towns that have included New Milford, Kent, and Washington.
On behalf of Cramer & Anderson’s municipal clients, Attorney Tower has handled matters before the Connecticut Superior Court, Connecticut Appellate Court, and U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
In 2017 Attorney Tower won a Distinguished Leader award from the Connecticut Law Tribune (CLT) as part of its annual statewide Professional Excellence Awards. In announcing Attorney Tower as a Distinguished Leader, the CLT referenced the home improvement contractor case and said, “Tower went to bat for a mother in Brookfield who hired a Danbury contractor for $38,725 and ended up with incomplete repairs, a $116,000 bill and workers who had walked away from the job.”
Attorney Tower has been a Cramer & Anderson Partner since January 2000. He joined the firm as an Associate in 1994, after serving as an attorney in the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Office of General Counsel, Legal Services Division, in Washington, D.C., for nearly five years. He has practiced law since December 1989.
Admitted To Bar:
1994, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
Education:
Cornell University, College of Arts & Sciences, magna cum laude and distinction in all subjects (B.A., 1985)
Professional Activities:
Connecticut Bar Association, Litigation Section
Connecticut Bar Association, Construction Law Section
Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association
Litchfield County Bar Association
Ethics Commission, Town of New Milford, 2001-2003
Selected Cases:
Design Tech LLC v. Moriniere, 146 Conn. App. 60 (2013)
Megin v. Town of New Milford, 125 Conn. App. 35 (2010)
Scott v. Heinonen, 118 Conn. App. 577 (2009), cert. denied, 295 Conn. 909 (2010)
Baxter v. Aslansan, 85 Conn. App. 816 (2004)
Stravitsch v. Nestle USA, Inc., 49 Conn. Sup. 278 (2005)
J&M Co. v. Whynott, 2004 WL 2397329, 38 Conn. L. Rptr. 23 (Conn. Super. Sep. 22, 2004) (No. CV 040182710S).
Zabarovskis v. Anderson, , 1996 WL 383319 (Conn. Super. Jun. 25, 1996) (No. 314658)
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Attorney's Practice Areas
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Attorney Tower’s Paralegal is Kelly Simpson, who may be reached at (860) 355-2631 or by email at ksimpson@crameranderson.com.