Michael A. Cedrone

Michael focuses his practice in public procurement and government contracts litigation, cannabis licensing, administrative law and regulatory compliance.

He has considerable experience in all aspects of government contracting disputes at the state and local levels, and has assisted corporate clients, large and small, in litigating numerous bid protests, both as challenger and defender, in state court and before state administrative agencies. Michael’s litigation practice is backed by extensive appellate experience, including both defending and prosecuting appeals, as well as stays of trial court or administrative agency decisions. Several of his representations resulted in published and unpublished opinions significant to New Jersey’s public procurement and cannabis licensing landscape.

Michael has served as counsel to Ewing Township, New Jersey, advising on a variety of municipal matters. He also has extensive experience in matters pertaining to government records, including the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), and has litigated numerous OPRA lawsuits and administrative actions, including appeals.

Michael’s experience extends to complex bankruptcy litigation, including adversary proceedings concerning the recovery of contested or misappropriated assets.

Prior to private practice, Michael served as a Judicial Law Clerk to The Honorable Joseph L. Yannotti, Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Representative Experience

• Represented bidder in successfully overturning award of $2 million ferry services contract to sole competitor in which the County relied on an ultra vires “hybrid procurement process” in making an award that departed from the strict procedures of the state’s Local Public Contracts Law. (Port Imperial Ferry Corp., d/b/a NY Waterway v. Monmouth County, et al., A-0776-22 (App. Div. 2024)).
• Represented Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) awarded a vertically integrated cannabis license in defending against appeals by unsuccessful bidders seeking to challenge both the award of the license and their Treasury-issued WBE Certification. (Matter of Curio Holdings NJ, LLC, A-0947-21, (App. Div. 2023); Matter of AP NJ Health, LLC, A-0783-21, (App. Div. 2023))
• Represented adult-use cannabis retailer in successfully challenging the wrongful rejection of its licensing application. (Fresh Dispensary Eatontown LLC v. Borough of Eatontown, MON-L-0907-22 (Law. Div. 2023))
• Represented successful bidder awarded a bus transportation contract in defending against appeal by unsuccessful bidder seeking to stay implementation of the contract and overturn the award. (Matter of NJ Transit, 473 N.J. Super. 261, 263 (App. Div. 2022))
  In a case of first impression, represented successful bidder awarded a multimillion dollar contract for the comprehensive renovation and restoration of the New Jersey Executive State House in defending against appeal by unsuccessful bidder seeking to stay implementation of the contract and overturn the award. (In re Protest of Contract Award for Project A1150-08, N.J. Executive State House Comprehensive Renovation & Restoration, 466 N.J. Super. 244 (App. Div. 2021))
• Represented cannabis business in successfully overturning the State of New Jersey’s award of vertically integrated medicinal cannabis licenses for failure to adhere to tenets of administrative due process and also because the scoring of applicants was highly inconsistent and arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable. (In the Matter of the Application for Medicinal Marijuana Alternative Treatment Center for Harvest of New Jersey, LLC, 465 N.J. Super. 343 (App. Div. 2020))
• Ongoing representation of three insurance and financial services companies and one reinsurer based in Bermuda, on behalf of their Bermuda liquidators, in United States bankruptcy proceedings to recover more than $700 million of assets misappropriated by their former North Carolina-based owner.
• Represented municipality in matters before the New Jersey Superior Court, its Appellate Division, and New Jersey Government Records Council involving the release of government records under the Open Public Records Act and the common law right of access.

Affiliations

• Princeton Bar Association

Recognition

Michael has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America as among the “Ones to Watch” in the area of Administrative and Regulatory Law, New Jersey, since 2023. Additionally, Michael has been recognized by New Jersey Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” in Administrative Law and Government Contracts Litigation in 2024.

Education

• Rutgers University School of Law – Camden, J.D., cum laude
  • Rutgers University Law Review, Staff Editor and Articles Editor
• The Pennsylvania State University, B.S.

Bar Admissions

• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• New York

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey