A Tribute to John J. Delaney

After receiving his undergraduate degree at Georgetown University, John served in the U.S. Army, then returned to his alma mater and graduated from Georgetown University Law Center. He served as an Assistant County Attorney in Montgomery County, Maryland, and in 1965, he became a founding partner of Linowes and Blocher LLP, a Washington, D.C., regional leader in handling land use and municipal law issues.

John had his hand in much of the development of Montgomery County, Maryland, and it can truly be said that his legacy includes numerous developments that have improved the quality of life for suburban Marylanders. He represented, or served, as a consultant to developers, municipalities, and institutional clients in a wide variety of matters, including land use regulation and litigation, growth management, regulatory takings, and municipal law.

I met John when I was teaching at George Washington University Law School and serving as the Research Counsel to the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Shortly after we met, John started to teach the land use law course at American University Law School (1978), and we often shared lesson plans.

John became a regular Faculty member on the ALI-ABA Land Use Litigation program and its successor program, the Land Use Institute. He was a true “utility infielder”—for two decades he completed panels on a variety of practice “nuts and bolts,” as well as substantive topic panels. In 2005, John gave the Keynote Faculty Address, “Improving the Process so that We Can Get to the Substance: Reflections on 40 Years of Land Use Practice.”

He was a prolific author and lectured throughout the U.S. He briefed and/or argued numerous reported cases in state and federal courts, including Maryland’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He authored a number of law review articles, many quoted in various court decisions. My favorite was “He Who Rests Less Vests Best: Acquisition of Vested Rights in Land Development,” St. Louis University Law Journal (1979). Additionally, I had the honor of serving as co-author with him and Stanley Abrams in the two-volume Handling the Land Use Case practice manual that is in its third edition and continuous publication, with annual supplementation, since 1984.

No tribute to John would be complete without mention of his loyalty to his Gonzaga College High School. He was involved with the Gonzaga Alumni Association for over 50 years; he and his wife Gloria sent three sons to Gonzaga. John served as President of the Father’s Club and a member of the Board of Directors. He also served as Board Chair.

He handled the school’s real estate concerns, and was their committed pro-bono attorney. The Rev. Stephen W. Planning, the school’s president, called him “Mr. Gonzaga,” and in Delaney’s published memoriam, stated that “Mr. Gonzaga himself has walked into eternity with a forever grateful Gonzaga by his side.”