| Capruso v Village of Kings Point |
| 2010 NY Slip Op 08522 [78 AD3d 877] |
| November 16, 2010 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| Daniel Capruso et al., Respondents, v Village of KingsPoint et al., Appellants. (Action No. 1.) State of New York, Respondent, v Village of KingsPoint, Appellant. (Action No. 2.) |
—[*1] Albert K. Butzel, New York, N.Y., and Super Law Group, LLC, New York, N.Y. (Reed W.Super and Alexandra I. Hankovszky of counsel), for respondents in action No. 1 (one brief filed).Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General, New York, N.Y. (Michael S. Belohlavek, Ann P. Zybert,Norman Spiegel, and Janice Taylor of counsel), for respondent in action No. 2.
In two related actions for certain declaratory and injunctive relief, the defendants in actionNo. 1 appeal, as limited by the joint brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court,Nassau County (Feinman, J.), dated July 29, 2009, as granted the motion of the plaintiffs inaction No. 1, for a preliminary injunction, conditioned on their posting of an undertaking, anddenied their cross motion to dismiss the complaint in that action, and the defendant in action No.2 appeals, as limited by the joint brief, from so much of an order of the same court datedNovember 18, 2009, as granted the motion of the plaintiff in action No. 2 for a preliminaryinjunction and denied its cross motion to dismiss the complaint in that action.
Ordered that the appeal from so much of the order dated July 29, 2009, as granted theplaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction is dismissed as academic; and it is further,
Ordered that the order dated July 29, 2009, is affirmed insofar as reviewed; and it is further,
Ordered that the order dated November 18, 2009, is affirmed insofar as appealed from; and itis further,
Ordered that one bill of costs is awarded to the respondents.[*2]
In March 2009 the plaintiffs in action No. 1 (hereinafterthe plaintiffs) commenced that action against the Village of Kings Point, the Village Mayor, andthe Village Board of Trustees (hereinafter collectively the village defendants) seeking declaratoryand injunctive relief predicated on allegations of the Village's current and proposed use of certaindedicated parkland (hereinafter the alleged parkland) for nonpark purposes without the approvalof the New York State Legislature (hereinafter the State Legislature) in violation of the publictrust doctrine (see Friends of Van Cortlandt Park v City of New York, 95 NY2d 623, 630[2001]). The plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction to prevent the Village from movingforward with its plans for the proposed use of the alleged parkland during the pendency of theaction. The village defendants cross-moved to dismiss the complaint as time-barred and based onlaches. In the order dated July 29, 2009, the Supreme Court, inter alia, granted the plaintiffs'motion, conditioned on their posting of an undertaking, and denied the village defendants' crossmotion. The village defendants appeal from that order.
Meanwhile, in September 2009, when the plaintiffs were unable to post an undertaking in theamount required by the foregoing order, the State of New York (hereinafter the State), as parenspatriae on behalf of its citizens and residents, commenced action No. 2 against the Villageseeking similar declaratory and injunctive relief based on the public trust doctrine only withrespect to the Village's proposed use of the alleged parkland for nonpark purposes without theapproval of the State Legislature. Like the plaintiffs in action No. 1, the State moved for apreliminary injunction to prevent the Village from moving forward with its plans for theproposed use of the alleged parkland during the pendency of the action. In the order datedNovember 18, 2009, the Supreme Court, inter alia, granted the State's motion and denied theVillage's cross motion. The Village appeals from that order.
Contrary to the appellants' contention, the statute of limitations did not bar the subjectactions. A municipality's current and ongoing use of dedicated parkland for nonpark purposeswithout the approval of the State Legislature in violation of the public trust doctrine is acontinuing wrong that the municipality has the ability to control and abate. Thus, here, althoughthe Village purportedly has been using the alleged parkland for nonpark purposes without theapproval of the State Legislature since, at the latest, around July 1946, insofar as the plaintiffs'second cause of action seeks declaratory and injunctive relief predicated on allegations of theVillage's current and ongoing use of the alleged parkland for certain nonpark purposes withoutthe approval of the State Legislature in violation of the public trust doctrine, the plaintiffs' secondcause of action is not time-barred (see State of New York v CSRI Ltd. Partnership, 289AD2d 394, 395 [2001]; Hampton Hgts. Dev. Corp. v Board of Water Supply of City ofUtica, 136 Misc 2d 906, 913 [1987], affd 140 AD2d 958 [1988]; Fabini vKammerer Realty Co., 14 Misc 2d 95, 98 [1958]; see also Stalis v Sugar Cr. Stores,295 AD2d 939, 941-942 [2002]; 1050 Tenants Corp. v Lapidus, 289 AD2d 145, 146[2001]). Moreover, insofar as the plaintiffs' first cause of action and the State's first and secondcauses of action seek declaratory and injunctive relief based on the public trust doctrine toprevent the Village's proposed use of the alleged parkland for certain nonpark purposes withoutState Legislative approval pursuant to a plan first publicly announced by the Village inNovember 2008, those causes of action also are not time-barred (see Matter of Jones v Amicone, 27AD3d 465, 470 [2006]).
Contrary to the village defendants' contention, the Supreme Court properly denied thatbranch of their motion which was to dismiss the plaintiffs' second cause of action on the groundof laches (see Matter of Burke v Sugarman, 35 NY2d 39, 45 [1974]; Patrolman'sBenevolent Assn. of Southampton Town, Inc. v Town of Southampton, 2009 NY Slip Op32660[U] [2009]; see also Goodfarb v Freedman, 76 AD2d 565, 572 [1980]).
The village defendants' contentions regarding the granting of the preliminary injunction inaction No. 1 have been rendered academic, as that portion of the order has expired by its ownterms (see Messiah's CovenantCommunity Church v Weinbaum, 74 AD3d 916 [2010]). With respect to action No. 2,contrary to the Village's contention, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion ingranting the State's motion for a preliminary injunction insofar as the State demonstrated by clearand convincing evidence a likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable injury absent thegranting of injunctive relief, and that a balancing of the equities is in its favor (see Doe vAxelrod, 73 NY2d 748, 750 [1988]; Tatum v Newell Funding, LLC, 63 AD3d 911, 912 [2009]).Mastro, J.P., Balkin, Eng and Hall, JJ., concur.