Real Property Law

In an action by a scouting organization to determine claims to property it has used for more than 100 years, the scouting organization appealed from Supreme Court's dismissal of its claim. The Appellate Division modified to declare that the organization has not exclusive rights or legal title to the property, but otherwise affirmed.

The scouting organization, affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, alleged that in 1913, when grantors conveyed land to the Bronx Parkway Commission pursuant to eminent domain, the conveyance included a reservation of right to the scouting organization's predecessors. The organization also claimed title by adverse possession to the cabin it has long used. Westchester County moved to dismiss the complaint, citing two statutes vesting title in the county. The country asserted that the Bronx Parkway commission had issued a permit to one of the scouting organization's predecessors in 1919 allowing construction of a cabin, and the county asserted that as a result, the organization was only a licensee. Supreme Court granted the county's motion to dismiss the complaint.