Matter of Board of Fire Commr. of the Fairview Fire Dist. v. Town of Poughkeepsie Planning Bd.

2017 NY Slip Op 8515, 156 A.D.3d 624, 67 N.Y.S.3d 24
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedDecember 6, 2017
Docket2015-08863
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2017 NY Slip Op 8515 (Matter of Board of Fire Commr. of the Fairview Fire Dist. v. Town of Poughkeepsie Planning Bd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Matter of Board of Fire Commr. of the Fairview Fire Dist. v. Town of Poughkeepsie Planning Bd., 2017 NY Slip Op 8515, 156 A.D.3d 624, 67 N.Y.S.3d 24 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

In a hybrid proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 to review a determination of the Planning Board of the Town of Pough-keepsie dated January 15, 2015, which granted conditional site plan approval, and action for related declaratory relief, the petitioner/plaintiff appeals (1) from so much of an order and judgment (one paper) of the Supreme Court, Dutchess County (Sproat, J.), dated June 30, 2015, as granted those branches of the motion of Page Park Associates, LLC, and the separate motion of the Town of Poughkeepsie Planning Board, the Town Board of the Town of Poughkeepsie, and the Town of Pough-keepsie, a Municipal Corporation of the State of New York, which were pursuant to CPLR 7804 (f) and 3211 (a) (5) to dismiss the first, second, and fifth causes of action insofar as asserted against each of them, and dismissed those causes of action, and (2) , as limited by its brief, from so much of an order of the same court dated October 5, 2015, as (a), upon re-argument, in effect, vacated the original determination in the order and judgment dated June 30, 2015, denying those branches of the motion of Page Park Associates, LLC, and the separate motion of the Town of Poughkeepsie Planning Board, Town of Poughkeepsie Town Board, and Town of Poughkeepsie, a Municipal Corporation of the State of New York, which were pursuant to CPLR 7804 (f) and 3211 (a) (5) to dismiss the third and fourth causes of action insofar as asserted against each of them, and thereupon granted those branches of the motions, and (b), upon renewal, in effect, vacated the original determination in the order and judgment dated June 30, 2015, denying that branch of the motion of the Town of Poughkeepsie Planning Board, Town of Poughkeepsie Town Board, and Town of Poughkeepsie, a Municipal Corporation of the State of New York, which was pursuant to CPLR 7804 (f) and 3211 (a) (5) to dismiss the third and fourth causes of action insofar as asserted against them, and thereupon granted that branch of their motion.

Ordered that the order and judgment is affirmed insofar as appealed from; and it is further,

Ordered that the order is modified, on the facts and in the exercise of discretion, (1) by deleting the provisions thereof, upon reargument, in effect, vacating the original determination in the order and judgment denying those branches of the motion of Page Park Associates, LLC, and the separate motion of the Town of Poughkeepsie Planning Board, Town of Pough-keepsie Town Board, and Town of Poughkeepsie, a Municipal Corporation of the State of New York, which were pursuant to CPLR 7804 (f) and 3211 (a) (5) to dismiss the third cause of action insofar as asserted against each of them, and thereupon granting those branches of the motions, and substituting therefor a provision, upon reargument, adhering to the original determination in the order and judgment denying those branches of the motions, and (2) by deleting the provision thereof, upon renewal, in effect, vacating the determination in the order and judgment denying that branch of the motion of the Town of Poughkeepsie Planning Board, Town of Poughkeep-sie Town Board, and Town of Poughkeepsie, a Municipal Corporation of the State of New York, which was pursuant to CPLR 7804 (f) and 3211 (a) (5) to dismiss the third cause of action insofar as asserted against them, and substituting therefor a provision, upon renewal, adhering to the original determination in the order and judgment denying that branch of the motion; as so modified, the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Dutchess County, for the service and filing of the respondents/ defendants’ answers within 30 days after the date of this decision and order, and for further proceedings on the petition/complaint in accordance herewith; and it is further,

Ordered that one bill of costs is payable to the respondents appearing separately and filing separate briefs.

The background facts in this case are set forth in our decision and order on a related appeal (Matter of Board of Fire Commrs. of the Fairview Fire Dist. v Town of Poughkeepsie Planning Bd., 156 AD3d 621 [2017] [decided herewith] [hereinafter Fairview I]).

On January 15, 2015, the Town of Poughkeepsie Planning Board (hereinafter the Planning Board) granted conditional site plan approval to a project proposed by Page Park Associates, LLC (hereinafter Page), to construct a multifamily residential project in the Town of Poughkeepsie. The Board of Fire Commissioners of the Fairview Fire District, a District Corporation of the State of New York (hereinafter the petitioner), commenced this hybrid proceeding (hereinafter Fairview II) challenging the site plan approval, and action for related declaratory relief. In its petition/complaint, the petitioner asserted five causes of action. The Planning Board, the Town of Poughkeepsie Town Board (hereinafter the Town Board), the Town of Poughkeepsie, a Municipal Corporation of the State of New York (hereinafter collectively the Town respondents), and Page (hereinafter collectively the respondents) each filed pre-answer motions to dismiss the petition/complaint pursuant to CPLR 7804 (f) and 3211 (a) (5) insofar as asserted against each of them. The Supreme Court, in an order and judgment (one paper) dated June 30, 2015, granted those branches of the respondents’ separate motions which were to dismiss the first, second, and fifth causes of action insofar as asserted against each of them. The court denied the motions with respect to the third and fourth causes of action, finding that as alleged, those causes of action were facially sufficient, and directed the respondents to answer. The petitioner appeals from this order and judgment.

Page moved for leave to reargue, and the Town respondents moved for leave to reargue and renew. With respect to reargument, the respondents contended that the Supreme Court overlooked that the petitioner lacked standing to maintain the third and fourth causes of action. With respect to that branch of the Town respondents’ motion which was for leave to renew, they submitted a payment in lieu of taxes (hereinafter PILOT) agreement, which was executed on May 28, 2015, and filed with the Dutchess County Clerk’s Office on June 17, 2015, and which, they argued, rendered the petitioner’s third and fourth causes of action academic. By order dated October 5, 2015, the court granted leave to reargue, and, upon reargument, directed dismissal of the third and fourth causes of action insofar as asserted against each of the respondents. The court also granted that branch of the Town respondents’ motion which was for leave to renew, and, upon renewal, directed dismissal of the third and fourth causes of action insofar as asserted against the Town respondents. The petitioner appeals from this order.

The Supreme Court properly determined that the first, second, and fifth causes of action were barred by the doctrine of res judicata, to the extent that the petitioner contended that the site plan approval was based upon an invalid determination under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (ECL art 8 [hereinafter SEQRA]).

The doctrine of res judicata provides that “once a claim is brought to a final conclusion, all other claims arising out of the same transaction or series of transactions are barred, even if based upon different theories or if seeking a different remedy” (O’Brien v City of Syracuse, 54 NY2d 353, 357 [1981]; see Dupps v Betancourt, 121 AD3d 746, 747 [2014]).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2017 NY Slip Op 8515, 156 A.D.3d 624, 67 N.Y.S.3d 24, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matter-of-board-of-fire-commr-of-the-fairview-fire-dist-v-town-of-nyappdiv-2017.