Romeo v. Barrella

82 A.D.3d 1071, 921 N.Y.2d 83
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMarch 22, 2011
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 82 A.D.3d 1071 (Romeo v. Barrella) 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
Romeo v. Barrella, 82 A.D.3d 1071, 921 N.Y.2d 83 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

[1072]*1072The appeal from the intermediate order must be dismissed because the right of direct appeal therefrom terminated with the entry of judgment in the action (see Matter of Aho, 39 NY2d 241, 248 [1976]). The issues raised on the appeal from the order are brought up for review and have been considered on the appeal from the judgment (see CPLR 5501 [a] [1]).

Pietsch Gardens is a 19.289 acre parcel of land located on the shore of Peach Lake in North Salem, New York. In the 1930s, Pietsch Gardens was developed by the Pietsch family as a summer resort community. The Pietsch family owned and maintained the land, and leased building sites to tenants who, in turn, erected cottages on those leased sites.

In the late 1970s, Pietsch Gardens was sold by the Pietsch family .and converted into a land cooperative. Title was vested in the Pietsch Gardens Cooperative, Inc. (hereinafter the Cooperative), which is governed by the Pietsch Gardens Cooperative Board of Directors (hereinafter the board) (hereinafter together the Pietsch defendants).

At the time the Cooperative was formed, there were 98 cottages on the land. Pursuant to the founding documents, the individual cottage owners maintained title to the structures, while title to each lot remained with the Cooperative. The cottage owners were extended offers to buy stock in the corporation [1073]*1073which represented the number of shares allocated to the particular site on which their cottage sat. The number of shares apportioned to each site was fixed by the board based on factors such as economic value, terrain, and view. The cottage owners were issued proprietary leases which granted each owner the exclusive right to occupy and use that particular lot.

Although a survey of the perimeter of the entire parcel was performed when title was obtained, the Cooperative, at the time of formation, deemed a survey of the individual sites to be cost prohibitive. It is undisputed that the Cooperative never performed an official survey “as to the sites.” Instead, at the time of formation, the “size and configuration” of each lot was “established by the homeowners staking the boundaries and property limits.”

The lack of individual site surveys is reflected on the standard proprietary lease. Each proprietary lease describes the particular site, based on the street address and lot number, and provides measurements as to the width and depth of the site. However, the leases specify that “no accurate survey exists” and that the measurements described are “approximate.”

On September 5, 2001, the plaintiff obtained title to the cottage identified as 38 Cottage Lane. At the same time, the plaintiff obtained 176 shares of stock in the Cooperative, and was granted a proprietary lease which described the leasehold as “Block No. 11781 Lot 2, 26.0 ft. width X 62.0 ft. depth (1612 sq. ft.).” As with all of the proprietary leases issued by the Cooperative, the plaintiffs lease specified that “no accurate survey exists” and that the measurements were “approximate.”

Sandra and Ryan Barrella (hereinafter together the Barrellas) purchased 40 Cottage Lane on March 5, 2007. 40 Cottage Lane is adjacent to 38 Cottage Lane, which is directly to the east. The two cottages are located within a few feet of each other.

Prior to the Barrellas’ purchase, the plaintiff had sole use and occupancy of the land between the cottages. The plaintiff added plants, trellises, and other items in this area, and was never advised that she was utilizing property that was not part of her leasehold. After purchasing 40 Cottage Lane, however, the Barrellas commenced certain construction projects and alterations and, in this regard, asked the board to locate the boundary line between the two leaseholds. The board, in response, placed a metal spike in the ground which identified the boundary line as aligning with the outside edge of the cement block chimney on 38 Cottage Lane. According to this identified line, the land separating the cottages was part of the Barrellas’ leasehold.

The plaintiff then filed the instant complaint. In the first [1074]*1074cause of action, the plaintiff sought, pursuant to RPAPL article 15, a judgment declaring her the rightful lessee of the 26-foot-by-62-foot plot of land that surrounds 38 Cottage Lane. More particularly, citing various land markers, the plaintiff insisted that the boundaries of this lot included the land between 38 Cottage Lane and 40 Cottage Lane. She also sought a declaration compelling the Barrella defendants to discontinue any construction encroaching on her leasehold and compelling them to remove a portion of an enclosed room at the rear of their cottage. In a second cause of action, the plaintiff asserted that the Cooperative and the Board had made numerous attempts to intimidate and disenfranchise her, and sought damages therefor.

In October 2008, the Supreme Court issued a “final disclosure order,” which, among other things, gave the plaintiff permission to have a surveyor inspect and measure the individual lots. Despite receiving permission in October 2008, the plaintiff did not enter into an agreement with a surveyor until April 2009. According to the surveyor, the work product was not to be an actual “survey,” but instead a “location map” of Cottage Lane which attempted to “fit” the cottages “within the confines of the dimensions on each proprietary lease.”

At a status/trial readiness conference held on April 8, 2009, the plaintiff informed the Supreme Court that the “survey” would be completed before the 26th of April. Counsel acknowledged that there would be no further adjournments “[ujnder any circumstances.” At a conference on April 28, 2009, however, the plaintiff requested and received two additional weeks to produce the survey and the field data that the survey was based upon. The plaintiff was specifically told that she would be precluded from using the survey if this deadline was not met.

At a conference held on May 22, 2009, the plaintiff again informed the Supreme Court that the survey had not been completed. The plaintiff requested another week and, despite noting that the plaintiff had “missed every deadline” and threatening sanctions, the Supreme Court gave the plaintiff three additional weeks to produce the survey and the field notes. The plaintiff was again told that she would be precluded from using the survey if she failed to serve opposing counsel with the survey and field notes by the new deadline. The Supreme Court stated to the plaintiff “I have given you opportunities at every time and you have not complied with the time limits I’ve imposed. You have utterly failed to move this case along.”

At a conference held on June 11, 2009, the plaintiff initially stated that the survey had been completed, but that the field notes were not available because the surveyor had refused to [1075]*1075release the documents. Later,-during that conference, counsel admitted that he possessed a hard copy of the field notes, but insisted that he did not have permission to turn the data over. Although the plaintiff sought additional time and insisted that she could produce all of the necessary documents, the Supreme Court determined that the survey would be precluded. A preclusion order was signed on July 1, 2009, and in an order dated August 13, 2009, the Supreme Court denied the plaintiffs motion to vacate the preclusion order.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
82 A.D.3d 1071, 921 N.Y.2d 83, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/romeo-v-barrella-nyappdiv-2011.