Actual knowledge that another person is the title owner does not alone defeat an adverse possessor’s claim. In Walling v. Przybylo the Court of Appeals affirmed an order granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiff-adverse possessors. Plaintiff Walling commenced an action to quiet title upon learning that defendant Przybylo had…
New York’s highest court declined to apply the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) in finding a religious institution’s use of a lot zoned for “conference and training facilities” is permitted under local zoning. In Town of Mount Pleasant v. Legion of Christ, Inc., the Town appealed an…
A court may not require a town board to reach a determination on, or even consider an application for a zoning change. In Matter of Richard M. Wolff v. Town/Village of Harrison, the Appellate Division Second Department dismissed petitioner’s request for judgment compelling the town board to reach a determination…
An appellate court dismissed five consolidated actions challenging New York City’s and the MTA’s use of eminent domain to obtain land for a project on Manhattan’s West Side. In Matter of C/S 12th Ave. LLC v. City of New York, the Appellate Division First Department upheld the City’s approval of…
In a CPLR Article 78 proceeding, an appellate court held that where a zoning board provides a rational explanation for denying a variance, the determination will not be viewed as either arbitrary or capricious even if a variance has been granted to another property on similar facts. In Matter of…
An appellate court held that a planning board abused its discretion by amending a SEQRA draft environmental impact statement based on the board’s concern that the proposed subdivision was inconsistent with the goals of a recently implemented voluntary program giving area landowners incentives to conserve agricultural property. In Matter of…
An appellate court agreed with Silverberg Zalantis LLC that the zone changes implemented by the Village of Lake Grove did not require a full environmental impact statement before a SEQRA negative declaration could be issued. In Matter of Lake Grove Partners LLC v. Middleton, the Appellate Division Second Department upheld…
A municipality is liable under a construction contract once awarded, irrespective of whether the municipality decides to terminate before the contract is actually signed. In the case of Xavier Contracting LLC v. the City of Rye the Appellate Division Second Department held the City had liability for the contract awarded…
A zoning board may consider public safety when interpreting a zoning ordinance but must also look at the meaning of the ordinance, noted the Appellate Division, Second Department in Matter of Northern Dutchess Rod and Gun Club v. Town of Rhinebeck. The Rod and Gun Club sought to place trap…
An appellate court found a zoning board was arbitrary when it refused to hear an area variance application for the same property which had been denied an area variance nearly twenty years earlier. On April 25, 2006 the Appellate Division Second Department, in Matter of Moore v. Town of Islip…