Real Property Law

In an action by the Town of Southampton and the Trustees of the Freeholders of the Town of Southampton for a declaratory judgment that they own land that was previously under water, the town and the trustees appealed from Supreme Court's determination dismissing the complaint as time-barred and denying their motion to dismiss current occupants' counterclaim for adverse possession. The Appellate Division modified to reinstate the complaint, holding that questions of fact precluded summary judgment.

Current occupants own waterfront land in the Incorporated Village of West Hampton Dunes, which is located in the Town of Southampton. From 1973 to 1975 and 1992 to 1993, severe storms caused millions of tons of sand to be washed into Moriches Bay, adjacent to the land of current occupants. As a result, the high water mark of the bay shifted 500 feet northward creating additional land adjacent to current occupants' land. In 2006, the town and the trustees brought this action to establish that they, and not the current occupants, owned this additional land. Current occupants moved to dismiss the complaint based on the statute of limitations and on laches, and counterclaimed to establish title by adverse possession. Supreme Court dismissed on statute of limitations grounds, but held that questions of fact remained with respect to the adverse possession claim. The town and the trustees appealed.