Category Archives: New York Law

Owner Sues Towing Company For Car Seized By Police

Was Vehicle Legally Sold at Auction? Action Time-Barred?

Thomas Jackson sued Casino Towing Service, Inc. to recover for conversion, breach of a constructive bailment, negligence, unjust enrichment, and violation of the Lien Law in regards to his vehicle, which was seized by the New York State Police, towed by CTS February 7, 2017, and thereafter sold at auction on March 23, 2018.

Jackson moved to dismiss CTS’s affirmative defenses, including failure to state a cause of action and statute of limitations. In his affidavits in support of his motion, Jackson averred that he went to CTS’s place of business on February 8, 2017 demanding the return of his vehicle and providing a notice of recorded lien from his financing company which listed him as the owner of the vehicle. Jackson further averred that CTS refused to release the vehicle without proof of ownership in the form of a valid title or registration.

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Fibres Sought to Pierce LLC Veil: Principals Transferred Assets to Entities They Controlled

Did Court Properly Deny Motion to Dismiss Debtor and Creditor Law Claims?

Louis Monteleone Fibres, Ltd. initially sued to recover damages for breach of contract against Hudson Baylor Brookhaven, LLC, Green Stream Recycling, LLC, Joseph Winters, and Anthony Core. Fibres filed an amended complaint adding Winters Bros. Green Stream Intermediate Holdings, LLC  and GSR Holdings, LLC defendants.

In the amended complaint, Fibres alleged that it was a broker in waste paper and was in a business relationship with HBB, the operator of a municipal landfill, pursuant to an operations and maintenance agreement with the Town of Brookhaven. Fibres and HBB agreed that HBB would supply Fibres with recycled newspapers of a particular quality. However, according to the complaint, HBB provided noncompliant product, which caused Fibres to suffer substantial losses.

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Stella and Peter Sue Their Brother William to Quiet Title to Brooklyn Property.

Court Determines Whether (or Not) William Raised Issue of Fact on Adverse Possession Claim

Stella Vassilakos and her brother, Peter, commenced an action against their brother, William Vassilakos, seeking a judgment declaring that they were tenants in common with a cumulative 40% interest in property located in Brooklyn, to quiet title to the property, and for the partition of the property. William interposed an answer and asserted various affirmative defenses and counterclaims, including that he had acquired sole title to the property by adverse possession. Stella moved for summary judgment on the complaint and dismissing William’s affirmative defenses and counterclaims. Supreme Court denied the motion. Stella appealed.

To obtain summary judgment in an action to quiet title pursuant to RPAPL article 15, the movant must establish, prima facie, that it holds title, or that the nonmovant’s title claim is without merit. Here, Stella established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting evidence that Stella and the others each acquired an interest in the property as tenants in common upon the death of their father intestate in 1988, and thereafter, they each acquired an additional interest in the property as tenants in common upon the death of their mother intestate in 2004.

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Blue Point Homeowner Sued Carrier After Denial of Refrigerator Water Line Leak Coverage

Court Determines Whether (Or Not) Earth Movement Policy Exclusion Applied

Robert Parisi was the owner of a house in Blue Point.  A leak from a refrigerator water line saturated a layer of fill earth inside the walls of the property, which in turn caused the foundation wall to collapse. Parisi submitted a claim to his insurer, Kingstone Insurance Company. Kingstone denied coverage for the foundation damage on the ground that the insurance policy excluded damage caused by earth movement and/or water damage.

Parisi commenced an action against Kingstone to recover damages for breach of an insurance contract and bad faith in denying insurance coverage. Parisi moved for summary judgment on the complaint or, alternatively, for summary judgment on the issue of liability. Kingstone cross-moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. Supreme Court granted Parisi’s motion which was for summary judgment on the issue of liability and denied Kingstone’s cross-motion. Kingstone appealed.

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Blochs Claimed Driveway Easement Over Contiguous Casella Property

Was Easement (Not) Established by Clear and Convincing Evidence?

In November 1991 or the spring of 1992, Dean L. Bloch purchased property located in Barrytown, which he later conveyed to both himself and his wife, Gale Wolfe. The Hudson River borders the western side of the property, and the rest of the property is surrounded by property that was owned by Unification Theological Seminary. The Blochs’ deed for the property included a right-of-way that abutted the property to the east and extended south to local roads.

The Blochs’ did not utilize the portion of the right-of-way that abutted their property for ingress and egress. Instead, they used a driveway that ran south through the southern boundary of their property, bisected UTS’s property, and joined the right-of-way near the southern portion of UTS’s property.

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Belgrei Sues North Shore Towers to Enjoin Noise and Vibrations

Did Court Properly Grant Preliminary Injunction For Alleged Nuisance?

In 2015, Michael Bilgrei entered into a proprietary lease for a unit in a cooperative apartment complex owned and operated by North Shore Towers Apts. He alleged that he had heard persistent vibrations and humming noises in his apartment since February 2021. In November 2021, Bilgrei commenced an action for an injunction directing NST to identify the source of the alleged vibrations and noise and to permanently abate them.

Bilgrie moved for a preliminary injunction enjoining NST “from permitting the nuisance caused by excessive noise and vibration” in his apartment and directing NST “to undertake such measures as are necessary to completely and permanently abate the nuisance.” NST opposed the motion. Supreme Court granted the motion, enjoined NST from permitting the vibrations and noise to continue, and directed NST to undertake measures to permanently abate the vibrations and noise. NST appealed.

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Commercial Landlord Sues Departing Tenant and Lease Guarantor For Double Rent

Did Open Building Applications and Code Violations Trigger Holdover Rent?

In a commercial-landlord-tenant action, landlord, 677 Euromad LLC, sought $2,280,311.23 in holdover rent from tenant, Levy Gorvy LLC, and from guarantor, Dominique Levy. Euromad alleged that it was entitled to that amount because Gorvy failed properly to surrender possession of the leased premises when its lease expired. Gorvy and Levy moved to dismiss the complaint.

Paragraph 59(k) of the parties’ lease provided that a holdover tenancy, at double rent, will arise if “possession of the Demised Premises is not surrendered to Landlord within one day after the date of the expiration of the term or earlier termination of this Lease.” Paragraph 21 of the lease provided that upon expiration of the lease, “Tenant shall quit and surrender to Owner the demised premises, broom clean, in good order and condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted and Tenant shall remove all its property.”

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Chevy Owner Sues Auto Repair Shop For Conversion/Replevin Of 2015 Tahoe

Court Determines Whether Vehicle Was Legally Sold At Auction For Non-Payment of Lien

In 2019, Georges Coly asserted a claim of replevin against Yorke & Sons Auto Inc. and Alive Auto Repair Inc. for the return of his 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe bearing VIN 1GNSCBKCXFR160546, as well as $1,200 in lost wages resulting from the allegedly unlawful detention of his vehicle. On May 9, 2023, the Court conducted a lengthy inquest on the record, during which it heard testimony from Coly and considered his documentary evidence. At the conclusion of the inquest, Coly orally amended his demand for damages to include $100,000 in lost wages, plus interest calculated at 20%, and a new 2023 Chevrolet Tahoe to be funded by Yorke and Alive.

Coly’s testimony was replete with substantial gaps and occasional inconsistencies. According to Coly, he was involved in an automobile accident on November 18, 2018, which damaged the front end of his vehicle and caused the airbag to deploy. The following day, on November 19, 2018, he brought his vehicle to Alive Auto Repair for repairs and was instructed to return the next day to receive an estimate. On November 20th, Coly returned to Alive and apparently was dissatisfied with the estimate; he claimed he told Alive not to repair his vehicle, but also that he could not take his vehicle that day and would return another day to retrieve it.

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Stella and Peter Sue Their Brother William to Quiet Title to Brooklyn Property.

Court Determines Whether (or Not) William Raised Issue of Fact on Adverse Possession Claim

Stella Vassilakos and her brother, Peter, commenced an action against their brother, William Vassilakos, seeking a judgment declaring that they were tenants in common with a cumulative 40% interest in property located in Brooklyn, to quiet title to the property, and for the partition of the property. William interposed an answer and asserted various affirmative defenses and counterclaims, including that he had acquired sole title to the property by adverse possession. Stella moved for summary judgment on the complaint and dismissing William’s affirmative defenses and counterclaims. Supreme Court denied the motion. Stella appealed.

To obtain summary judgment in an action to quiet title pursuant to RPAPL article 15, the movant must establish, prima facie, that it holds title, or that the nonmovant’s title claim is without merit. Here, Stella established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting evidence that Stella and the others each acquired an interest in the property as tenants in common upon the death of their father intestate in 1988, and thereafter, they each acquired an additional interest in the property as tenants in common upon the death of their mother intestate in 2004.

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Middle School Main Entrance Doors Slams on Teacher’s Hand

Did NYC/DOE Have Actual/Constructive Notice Of Defective Condtion?

  Janet Dan, a special education teacher and dean of a Bronx middle school, was helping students enter the school’s main entrance shortly after 8:00 a.m. Dan sued New York City and the Department of Education and alleged that as she pulled open the leftmost of a pair of “very heavy” metal fire doors, the door “swung out” with great force, smashing her left hand against the tile wall.

  The City/Doe moved to dismiss Dan’s complaint. The Court granted the motion. Dan appealed.    

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